


Giftless

by Nekoamamori



Series: Giftless [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Loki x Reader - Freeform, Reader Insert, loki x you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-01-13 01:37:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 50
Words: 113,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18458798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekoamamori/pseuds/Nekoamamori
Summary: You’re living with the Avengers, but have no powers of her own. Loki, a former villain, joins the superhero team, claiming that he has reformed, but can he be trusted?





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn't easy being constantly surrounded by superheroes when you have no powers of your own, but that was the hand you were dealt by fate. After your parents died a few years ago, you hadn't had any choice but to move into the Avenger’s Tower.Ok, you had a choice, but it was go into foster care or move into the tower. You picked the tower. Your uncle was there and was your guardian until you turned 18. It was fine, most of the time anyway. Mostly, you were just a kid sister to the older supers, an adopted daughter to some, and friend to those your own age. No one really seemed to look down on you for not having powers. You had the feeling they were just expecting you to eventually get them, your uncle being who he was. 

After the Avengers came out to the world, after the battle of New York, mutants and people with powers began showing up and congregating. Some kind of magic had broken in the world, giving powers to random people.Uncle Tony opened up the tower to them and an entire superhero squad was formed from it.More squads formed around the world as some of the supers were drawn to helping others, while others were drawn to more sinister motives. 

You looked up from the book you were reading in the livingroom when Uncle Tony and his patrol squad returned to the tower. The patrol squad tonight consisted of the original six Avengers.You jumped up from the couch when you realized it was him and ran over to greet him. “Uncle Tony! You're back! How did patrol go? I didn't see you guys on the news tonight-" you stopped talking when you saw the stranger among them. You gave the stranger a smile. "Sorry, I didn't see you. New recruit?" you asked the team.

Tony nodded, but had a hard edge to his look. "He's a new recruit in a matter of speaking. He is under strict orders to Stay. Away. From. You." He spat those last words at the newcomer, who stayed silent, but looked down and away from you and Tony. 

Tony and his team were all still in their costumes and armor. The newcomer was wearing leather armor in black and green. The newcomer was also wearing handcuffs. They weren't just any cuffs either, but looked way thicker than usual and covered in magical runes. There was about a foot of chain between the cuffs too. You stepped back, shocked that Tony and the team brought Loki to the tower. In chains.“Nat, can you take Kat upstairs?" Tony asked with the air of your overprotective uncle.Nat nodded and stepped over to you. Of course Tony trusted the assassin to keep you safe.“Sorry, Kat, I'll be up in a little bit to explain," Tony told you. Your name wasn’t really Kat, of course, but Tony had called you that as a nickname since you were born and everyone you knew had adopted it.You also saw in his expression that he was begging you not to make a big deal right now. This was business, whatever was going on with Loki.

You nodded, though you really wanted the explanation now. You grabbed your book from the couch and went upstairs with Nat, letting her walk with you to keep you safe.Though you were perfectly safe in your own home. 

Nat walked you all the way back to your room. "Is everything ok?" you asked her, concerned as to why they were bringing someone here who was in handcuffs.

She nodded."It will be. Tony just wants to get him settled in and he wants to make sure you're safe. You know how he is..." You nodded with an eyeroll.You knew damn well how overprotective your uncle was.

It was one reason you were living here after your parents died in the fire that consumed your house. It had been set by an evil villain who wanted your parents' money. Tony wasn’t the only one who was rich.Your father had worked with his brother in founding Stark Industries.He just stayed out of the limelight as he wasn’t the showman that Howard had been.Tony had saved you from the fire, but couldn't save your parents…

You shook the bad memories away when Nat spoke again. "I should help Tony with the new guy. Will you be ok alone?" She asked, sounding concerned, though she knew you’d be fine in your own room.

"I'll be fine, Nat,” you sighed in exasperation. You weren’t a weakling just because you didn't have powers like the others.

Nat nodded, willing to leave you.“Lock your door," she ordered before she turned and left to go deal with Loki with the others.You did as you were bid and went into your room and locked the door behind you.

It was only a couple of minutes before there was a knock on you door. You opened it warily, though expected to see Tony.Instead, it was one of the other supers, a tiny girl named Jane. She could have been a professional gymnast, but instead she had super strength and could fly. She looked like she should be a ballerina and loved to surprise villains with the nature of her powers. "Hi Jane," you said brightly, wondering why she was here.

"Tony wanted me to stay with you until he's done dealing with the new guy," she explained, rolling her eyes and looking put-upon. "Can I come in?" you nodded, opening the door to let her inside.

"What's up with this new guy? You're all on edge," you grumbled. She hesitated.Everyone knew of the battle of New York and who Loki was, but that didn’t explain why he was here when you thought he was supposed to be on Asgard in the dungeons. 

"He was a villain, but claims to have switched sides and wants to join us. Tony still thinks he's dangerous." You could tell that wasn't the entire story, but that was all you were going to get out of Jane. Jane was polite, but she hated her powers and hated being here, so she wasn't always the friendliest.

Since you were a permanent resident here, you had an entire suite, a small 'sitting room', aka a livingroom to those of us living in the 21st century, a bedroom, and a bathroom. At least you and Jane could sit comfortably in your livingroom. There was a couch and a comfy chair in front of the TV. Your desk with all of my homework was on one wall and you had a reading nook in the window. You spent a stupid amount of time reading, since you didn’t leave the tower much besides school.You curled up on your couch with your book and Jane sat on the other end, watching TV. You were both silent, but it was a comfortable one.

There was another knock on your door about an hour later. You got up to see who it was, but Jane beat you there and opened the door to show Tony on the other side. "Thanks Jane," he greeted her as he stepped past her into the room. She nodded and left to go back to her own devices and get away from babysitting duty

"What's going on?" you asked Tony once she was gone. Tony came in the rest of the way and took a seat on 'his' side of your couch. You took your seat again, knowing that he'd tell you when he was ready. 

"Loki and Thor returned to Earth.They claim Loki is here to make amends and help the team,” Tony started, sounding exasperated and like he didn’t believe what the gods said.

"That's really Loki?" you demanded, interrupting him. Of course you had seen the news and reports of the aliens coming to Earth to try to take it over, you’d watched it in real time while your friends and family fought them. They had been stopped because Loki had switched sides to help the Avengers defeat the rest of the villains, including its leader, his brother Balder.  Balder had escaped and Loki had returned to Asgard with Thor.

Tony nodded. "He says he's repented, but he's not to be trusted. He fought on the wrong team and hurt a lot of people. Kat, please, I know you have too big of a heart for your own good, but stay away from him, please,”

Like that was going to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

You nodded and did your best to convince Tony that you’d be careful. That much you could honestly tell him. You _would_ be careful. That didn't mean you would stay away from the new guy, from Loki. As any proper niece, you weren’t going to listen to Tony. He meant well, but he didn't understand people. He understood robots and electronics so much better than people, but he tried.For you anyway, he tried.“Stay up here tonight?" Tony asked you. You knew he wasn’t really asking.It was a demand in order to keep you away from Loki.You rolled your eyes, but nodded. 

"Fine," you grumbled, but it really didn't matter, since you were just going to read until bed regardless. That's what you did, which is why 90% of the decorations in your rooms were bookshelves, completely crammed and overflowing with books.

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you tomorrow," he promised. He kissed the top of your head before he left. He really tried to be affectionate, though it was hard work for him. But you were all the family the other had, so you tried to understand each other. “I have to go make sure they get him settled in without trouble,” he said apologetically.You nodded again, feeling the spark of loneliness when he left, but he had a job to do.It still hurt to be so alone most of the time.But you wouldn’t tell anyone that.

You sat and read for a few more hours, until you heard a commotion out in the hallway. You went to the door and cracked the door open to see what was going on, not even caring that you were standing in the doorway in your pajamas. You trusted everyone here, they were all family, besides, it was winter and your pajamas were plaid full-length pants and a long sleeve shirt. "He's not staying here!" you heard Tony roar. You stepped further out of your room to see what was going on. Tony and Director Fury were yelling at each other across the hall. There was a figure in the doorway behind them and you recognized the figure as Loki.

"This is the best place for him," Fury replied calmly.

"He can't stay in the suite across the hall from my niece!” Tony roared in reply, his fists curled.You knew him well enough to know he was moments away from summoning his armor. 

"We need him up here until we can put him on active duty. It will keep him from leaving without someone noticing. Your niece is up here since she's safest away from the main entrance to compound. This is my decision," Fury replied.His voice remained calm and rational.Tony may own the building, but Fury technically controlled everything that happened within its walls.

"We can't trust him," Tony was trying to be rational, but he was failing.You saw it and you knew that Director Fury saw it too.

"His powers are contained. He's in chains. He's safe and not going to hurt anyone. You're out of line soldier," Fury replied.

Tony growled.“I’m _not_ a soldier!”You could see him give up, though.He didn’t have a choice but to accept Fury’s decision.He would normally fight, but Fury was already doing him a favor letting you live here. You slipped back into your room before either of them noticed you were standing there. That would only cause trouble, but before you ducked into the room, you looked at Loki and saw him watching you.Hopefully, he would keep his mouth shut that you’d been watching.

Tony and Fury left a few minutes later after arguing some more over logistics.You grabbed a book off of one of your many shelves and went across the hall when they were gone. You took a moment to steel your nerves before you knocked on the door.Loki opened it a minute later, looking wary. His expression switched to shock for a moment before his perfectly calm expression was back in place. You took a moment to appreciate his form up close. He was thin, but muscular with raven hair and green eyes. He was also older than you. He looked twentyish, while you were almost eighteen. He still had the manacles on his wrists with the long chain between them, but was now wearing black pajama bottoms and a green t-shirt. "Can I help you?" he asked, sounding wary. You knew Tony had warned him to stay away from you, so of course he was wary of you showing up.

"I'm Kat, Y/N Stark, but I go by Kat. I live just across the hall," you waved to your open door. "I know these rooms are pretty bare when you first move in. I thought you'd like something to read..." you held out the book to him, offering friendship.You knew it was more than he’d get from anyone else, which pained you. 

"Your uncle instructed me to stay away from you. He was quite insistent," was his reply in a very pleasant British accent. You grinned, this you could handle.

"He gave me the same instructions in regards to you, but he's my uncle, so I'm contractually obligated to ignore such orders," you told him with a smile. "And you can't stay away from me when I come to bother you," you reminded him quite logically. That earned you a chuckle from him.

"It seems I might have a kindred spirit here after all," he replied warmly. He took the book from you gently. He was taking extra care not to touch your skin, or hit you accidentally with the chains. "Thank you for the loan, Lady Stark,”

"You're welcome. I have plenty, and I'm always willing to share," you smiled at him again.It would take time to gain his trust, and more than just the lending of a book, but you’d earned it.He deserved to have a friend, if he really had switched sides. You heard the clock chime midnight. "It's getting late. I should get some sleep. I can't run on no sleep like all of you supers seem able to,” you teased.

"Supers?" he asked, tilting his head at the foreign word.

"Sorry, it's a slang term for the superheroes, for those with powers," you explained to him. You forgot that if he came from another world and while his grasp of English was impeccable, he might not know things like slang.

"And you are not one of them?"

You shook your head.“No, I'm just a normal human,"

"Then why do you live among these...supers?" he didn't seem to care much for the slang word.

"My uncle is Iron Man. He’s the only family I have left," you told him. It was common knowledge anyway, so it didn’t hurt to share. "The world knows his secret identity, so they know who I am. It's safer for me to live among the supers than to live among the humans. Besides, it was here, or foster care, and I'd rather stay with my family." He took that in and you saw him store the words away to parse over later.He seemed to be memorizing the interaction to evaluate the whole thing later.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kat," he finally said. You couldn't be disappointed he didn't want to talk more. You were the one who reminded him that you needed sleep.You hadn’t wanted to overstay your welcome on your first interaction anyway.

"It was nice to meet you too," you replied and headed back to your own rooms. He watched you until you were safely inside with the door closed and locked behind you.It was only then that you heard his door close across the hall. You didn't know what Tony was talking about him being dangerous. He seemed nice enough.


	3. Chapter 3

You woke and dressed early for a Sunday the next morning and headed downstairs to find, or more likely make, breakfast. You didn't have a kitchen as part of your suite, so you had to use the big communal one on the first floor. You didn't mind, though. You didn’t have to cook much anyway, since the housekeeper usually did that for the team. 

Tony also said he owed you, so that usually meant he was going to take you to the bookstore, and regret it when you came out with all of the books.He always groaned and made a fuss about it, but he could buy the entire bookstore if he felt like it.It wasn’t like he was hurting for money since he was one of the richest men in the world.So you had something fun to look forward to on your Sunday.

You brought you book downstairs with you so you could read it until Tony got up, or until you got bored enough waiting and went to wake him so he didn't waste the entire day sleeping.He tended to either sleep never or for days straight.It depended on how much he was working in the lab

When you reached the bottom of the stairs, you set your book next to you usual spot in the huge common room where you all hung out, especially the younger supers. You rarely saw the original Avengers and the older members except your uncle, of course.They were too busy off on various missions. 

You looked up when you heard a slight noise, finally realizing that you weren’t alone in the room. Usually you were on Sunday mornings, so you hadn’t even thought to check the room for occupants. The supers all slept in after staying up late on Saturday nights patrolling. Your fear spiked for a moment until you saw the figure was sitting in one of the comfy chairs.And disappeared completely when you recognized that it was Loki. 

Most people wouldn’t be relieved to see a former super villain in their living room, but then you weren’t exactly normal.

Loki was sitting in one of the comfy chairs in the living room. He was still chained, but was now wearing jeans and a black T-shirt instead of his pajamas from the night before. "Good morning," you told him brightly, standing up all the way after placing your book carefully on your end table. He looked up from the book you had lent him. He had seemed enraptured in it, at least enough not to notice you had entered the room.You also noticed that he was nearly done with the book.

"Good morning, Lady Stark,” he replied.He seemed wary, as if unsure why you were talking to him. Unsure if this was a trick. 

"You're up early," you commented easily. He shrugged.

"As you mentioned last night, I require less sleep than humans," he replied, his accent was still lovely.His tone was guarded, but he seemed open to communication at least.

"I was going to make some breakfast. Have you eaten yet?" you asked him.Food could win over any super, you knew that from experience.He shook his head. You smiled even more brightly at him. "I'll make you some too, then," you told him and left the room before he could splutter a protest that he was perfectly capable of feeding himself and didn't need a little human girl to take care of him. You ignored his protests and went to work making the pair of you breakfast. It was simple eggs and bacon, but still, the thought counted. He came into the kitchen while you were working.He tried to be quiet, but he couldn’t sneak up on anyone because of the the chains.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused.

"Because we need to eat?" you replied logically, and not really what he was asking.

He gave you a look."No, why are you being...kind to me? You are aware of my past. Your uncle has warned you away from me. No one else here will trust me. Why you?"

You turned to face him after you had plated your breakfasts, leaving enough in the pans for Tony when he got up. You carried the plates to the dining room just off the kitchen, before you answered. He followed you without a word, waiting for your reply. He had tried to step in to help, but you shook his offer off. His wrists were shackled; you didn't need him dropping his breakfast. You set both plates on one of the tables and got silverware from a nearby drawer.

You sat across the table from Loki and looked up into his emerald eyes.“Everyone deserves a second chance and a friend. You say you've changed and I've been given no evidence to the contrary," you finally told him, finally finding the words you were looking for.He looked so lost and confused by that concept that you decided to cut him some slack and change the subject.“So how are you enjoying the book?"

His eyes lit up in delight.“It is a fantastic story. Thank you for sharing it with me, lady.”

You then got to talking about the book and its characters, spending your entire breakfast discussing it. You also told him that there were four more books in the series and he got even more excited. You heard footsteps above you and knew that the supers were starting to wake. You were out of time.

You gathered the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, gesturing to the living room with your head, a quiet order to Loki.He nodded, catching your drift. He didn't want Tony to catch him hanging out with you less than 24 hours after Tony had ordered both of you to stay away from the other. He didn’t have a death wish.He went back to his comfy chair and the book you had loaned him, looking as though he’d never left it.

You made Tony's breakfast plate and went up to his room to wake him up. You had a key to his room, but rarely needed it. He never locked his door. You still only burst in when you knew Pepper wasn’t in residence.You set the breakfast plate on his coffee table and banged on his bedroom door before throwing the door open, your eyes firmly shut and one hand over them, just to be safe."If you're naked, I'm going to kick your ass," you told him loudly. It could be difficult to get him up on Sundays.

"I'm not naked," he groaned. "Why are you such a morning person?" he growled at you, throwing a pillow in your direction

"You said you owe me and you'd make it up to me today," you reminded him. "I also wasn't out hunting bad guys all night. Your breakfast is on the table. I'll see you downstairs?"

"Fine, shoo imp and let me get dressed," you stuck my tongue out at him, but darted up to your own room to get your purse, figuring you _really_ were going out after he had eaten and gotten dressed. You also grabbed the other books in the series Loki was reading. Tony still wasn't downstairs when you made it back to the common room. Loki was still there, though and still looked like he hadn’t moved from that spot. You heard sounds from the kitchen and dining room and guessed that the other supers were up making breakfast, or the housekeeper had finally gotten up and was making breakfast for them. You set the books on the end table next to Loki's chair. He looked up, surprised. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just thought you'd like the rest of the series," you told him with a smile. You could win him over with bribery and friendship.You were sure you could. Granted, friends weren’t really something you were good at.You had a feeling he was the same way and a kindred spirit.He didn't respond right away, so you took a few steps back and headed to your spot on the nearby couch.

"Are you going out?" he asked, noting your purse. He sounded almost concerned.

You nodded and gave him a reassuring smile."Once Tony gets up, we're going out," you replied.He relaxed at that and you couldn’t help rolling your eyes at his overprotective nature. "It's perfectly safe to go out on a Sunday morning," you reminded him.

"Of course it is," he replied innocently. You weren’t at all convinced he agreed with you, especially when you didn’t have powers of your own. With that settled, you returned to your book.By the time any of the other supers had come into the room you were both reading your books innocently. No one said anything to Loki when they came in, but you got sleepy greetings from the supers.

"Did you eat?" Captain America asked you as he came through.You nodded and smiled up at him. He was one of my adopted uncles as most of the older supers were.

"Yes, Cap,” you replied obediently.He smiled fondly, already in costume, you noticed."Patrol this morning?" you asked.

"Yep, we old folks get the morning shift," he chuckled. "I'll see you later. Let me know if you need help with your homework this afternoon,"

"I will, thanks Cap.” He went out with his partner to patrol. You didn’t see who was partnering with him that morning.He usually took one of the teens out with him to train them, especially on such as easy shift as Sunday morning patrol. Teams weren't usually necessary first thing Sunday morning; the patrols went out in pairs instead. You saw Loki raise an eyebrow in question, but he wasn't going to draw attention now that there were more people in the room.

Tony came downstairs a couple minutes later. He took his plate to the dishwasher and came over to you. "Hey, Kat, Fury told me I have to get a few things for him," he glared at Loki, "since we're going out anyway. Do you mind?" He looked apologetic that your day out was being interrupted with chores.

"I don't mind," you replied, bouncing to your feet. Tony wrapped a protective arm around you and steered you from the room while you rolled your eyes at _his_ overprotective behavior.

You grabbed your coat and shoes from the coat closet next to the door and threw them on quickly on your way out. You hadn't been out in awhile besides school, and that didn't count.You were desperate to get out of the tower.

Tony drove you to the mall, asking about your classmates and talking about the other supers you lived with, as well as his patrol last night. You picked up whatever things Fury had wanted Tony to get, then you got to have your own fun.

Tony took you to see the latest super hero movie, you had lunch at an amazing Chinese restaurant and you got to laugh at how diva-like Tony got when he had to take selfies with fans and sign things the entire lunch. Then he made the mistake of taking you to the bookstore. He followed you around holding all of your books until he finally dragged your from the store again, protesting that his paycheck couldn't handle my book obsession. That was bull and you both knew it. Your parents had all been billionaires. Neither of you would ever need to work for money.You would have access to your own fortune once you turned 25.Except for things like school tuition, it wasn't to be touched until then.You were both happier and much more relaxed after your day out and went back to the compound in a much better mood than you had left it.

 


	4. Chapter 4

When you and Tony returned to the tower, Tony took Loki's things to Fury. You carried your new books upstairs and gathered the homework you still had to finish before class the next day. Tony had reports to write and other boring adult things to do that afternoon, so you were left to your own devices, namely, doing your homework. So you carried all of your homework and laptop and headed back downstairs. You didn’t want to be alone, and you had found out that if you worked on your homework in the common room, you could usually find someone to help you if you got stuck on something. That was the great thing about living with such a large extended family.

When you made it to the common room, you noticed that Loki was gone. You couldn’t help being a bit disappointed that he wasn't there, but you knew that you couldn't expect him to be here all of the time. That was your job.Besides, they'd probably be sending him on patrols soon and making him a real member of the team.

So you sat and worked on your homework for the afternoon. Tony came up to help you with your math homework and Bruce came up to help you with science.The older Avengers tried to make time, especially on Sunday afternoon to come help the teens with their homework.So you weren’t the only one benefiting from their visit.That didn’t mean you didn’t thank them for their help as always.They didn’t need to take time out of their Sunday afternoon to help you. 

You stayed up way later than you should have, engrossed in your new book, sitting in your usual spot on the couch when your homework was done.You were secretly, ok, maybe not so secretly, hoping that Loki would return, but he never did.You hoped that he was he was ok, and that people were giving him a chance, though you highly doubted that.

You finally relented and went to bed once it got too late, your books and homework cradled in your arms. When you got to your suite, you saw two of the books you had lent Loki waiting outside the door for you, sitting on a decorative knick knack table placed beside your door. You picked up up the books and added them to the stack already in your arms. 

When you did, you saw a note written in an elegant careful script.There were only two words printed:

<Thank you>

You smiled warmly at the note and ducked into your suite. You carefully reshelved your books, packed your homework and your bag for the next day, and took the note with you into your bedroom. You set the note on your nightstand and scribbled out a reply. All that was on it was your phone number. You made your way back out of your suite on tiptoes so as to not disturb your neighbor and slipped your note under Loki's door before darting back to your own room to get some sleep.

You didn't get much sleep, though you tried.You were plagued as usual with nightmares of the fire. You didn't tell anyone that you still had nightmares. They didn't need to know. It would just make Tony even more anxious and worried about you if he knew.

Once you finally freed yourself from the nightmares, you went to your sitting room and read until it was time to get ready for school. There was no way you were going to attempt to sleep again after nightmares of the fire.You left the door to the hallway open, an unspoken invitation for guests and company.

No one came.

You weren’t surprised, it was stupidly early

So you waited until it was time to get ready for school and closed the door to the hallway again so you could dress in your stupid school uniform. You knew that you shouldn't hate it. You went to the most elite private school around, thanks to your buttload of money and Tony’s insistence. That, of course, meant uniforms.

You grabbed your bag when you were dressed and headed downstairs. Tony was waiting to drive you to school. The school was within walking distance, but he always insisted on driving you, or walking with you if it was nice, or having one of the other supers escort you. You understood the reason: the world knew you were his niece, and so did the villains. Tony wouldn't take any chances with your safety.

"I'm working this afternoon. One of the others will pick you up," Tony told you as he pulled up to the school.

"I can walk home myself," I reminded him as you climbed out of his sports-car. "I'm 17, not 6," you grumbled, slinging your bag onto your back. 

"You're on the hit-list of the every villain in the city," he reminded you dryly. You sighed heavily.

"I know..." you finally replied, defeated.There was no winning when the supers were intent on protecting you.

"So someone will pick you up," Tony replied sternly.

"Fine," you replied and stomped up to the school.You were in an awful mood thanks to the nightmares and the reminder that you had no powers.You hated being treated like a little kid because of it, even though you understood the reasoning for it.

So you suffered through your classes during the super long day. You couldn’t stand most of the girls in the school, they were all preppy cheerleader types, and you were a bookworm. You didn't get along on a fundamental level. They were nice enough when they needed help on their homework or wanted to cheat off of you during a test, but that was the extent of their kindness. You put up with it, because the education was worth it.

You were beyond grateful when the last bell of the day rang and you were _finally_ free to get out of that miserable place. You rushed out of the building to see who your ride would be that day and saw Nat waiting for you in one of Tony's fancy sports-cars. You headed straight for it and hopped in quickly.Nat despised waiting. You had a feeling she also hated babysitting duty, which is what this amounted to. You didn't blame her; you hated being babysat just as much as she hated babysitting.She had better things to be doing, despite that she liked you.

The trip home was short at least.Nat liked to drive fast "Thanks, Nat,” you told her as you jumped out of the car. She would drive it around the city for awhile longer to get back at Tony for making her babysit. She really did like driving fast. To prove that, she sped off the second you were out of the car.

You trudged back into the compound, chuckling at her antics. You hung up you jacket in the coat closet and went to see who was in the common room. It was just Loki there. You smiled brightly and waved at him. "Hi, Loki," you greeted him with a smile. He looked up, startled, from the book he was reading.

"Lady," he replied with a polite nod. He looked over your outfit and you felt myself blush. "That does not seem like your usual attire," he commented carefully. He was right, of course, short plaid skirts, button-up shirts, and jackets with the school logo on them were _not_ your normal attire.

"No, it's not," you agreed. "Unfortunately, the school I go to requires everyone to be dressed identically. Except the boys get to wear pants," you explained, making a face at how unfair that was.He inclined his head, accepting your answer. "I'll be back down in a few minutes," you told him as you dropped my school bag by your spot on your couch. "I usually work on homework down here,"

"Homework?" he inquired. You sighed.Alien, of course he didn’t understand the concept

"Stupid busywork that teachers give to students to torture them," you replied instinctively. Loki chuckled. "In reality it’s supposed to be assignments to help us retain the knowledge we learned in class today. Do they not have it on Asgard?” you asked curiously. He shook his head.

"No, once lessons are done for the day, the students are done,"

"Lucky kids on Asgard,” you replied. He laughed outright at that. You smiled at his laugh, proud of yourself for eliciting it, and headed out of the room, stripping off your uniform jacket on your way up the stairs. You needed desperately to change into more comfortable clothes. You chose a pair of jeans and a t-shirt instead of your usual pajamas. Loki wasn't family, not yet. And you _had_ promised Tony you’d be careful.

You bounced back downstairs to find that Loki had moved so he was sitting on the other side of your couch. You offered him a warm smile and took your seat before you dug your homework out of your bag and got to work. You sat in comfortable silence with Loki, him with his book and you with my homework until you growled at one of the math problems.

"Is there trouble?" he asked, looking up from his book to see what the problem was.

"Just that math makes no sense," you grumbled in exasperation "I'll have to wait for Uncle Tony to get done with work so he can explain this nonsense." You had wanted your homework done early tonight too so you could have some free-time.Stupid math interfering. 

"Might I be of assistance?" Loki asked.It couldn’t hurt to let him look, so you shrugged and handed the problem over to him. He looked it over and nodded. "I can explain this concept. In exchange, would you be willing to show me how this device works?" He held up a cell phone, one of the Stark issued ones that all the supers had.That’s what your phone was too. 

The chain between Loki’s wrists clanged as he moved. You hated those damn chains.He didn’t deserve them. He had switched sides and _helped_ the Avengers during his and Balder’s attack on New York.Now he was working with the Avengers.That should count for something.

You pushed the thought from your mind and grinned at him.

"You have a deal," you replied, holding your hand out to him with a grin. He hesitated, but gave you a tentative smile and shook your hand in return. He spent the next twenty minutes explaining the problem, and then the concept behind it, making it _way_ easier than the teacher had that morning. You showed him the basics of how to turn the phone on and make and answer phone calls. You traded more math problems for teaching him how to text, and told him if he helped with your science homework that you would tell him about Facebook and other social media. With his help, you got through your assignments in record time and by the end, he had a Facebook account, to which you were his first friend, and was comfortable with his new phone.

You felt it was a fair trade.


	5. Chapter 5

After you finished your homework and teaching Loki about his cell phone and social media, you both returned to reading on your separate ends of the couch in comfortable, companionable silence.

"Kat, dear, dinner is ready," the housekeeper called from the kitchen.

"Thanks Helene," you replied and set you book aside and stood to go get dinner. Helene always made sure you ate first, insisting that the supers had superpowers and they could fetch their own dinner if they were too lazy to come down when she made it, they could also wait five minutes until the powerless girl had gotten her plate. Since Helene insisted no matter how much you said you didn’t need or want special treatment, you stood quickly to get your dinner. You had learned to answer Helene's summons quickly so the supers didn't get upset that they had to wait on you. You looked over to Loki when you saw he hadn’t moved. "Aren't you coming?" You asked him, curiously.You thought he’d enjoyed spending time with you.

"In a minute," he replied simply, not looking up from his book.You shrugged, assuming he wanted to finish the chapter or whatever he was reading, and went to get your plate from Helene, thanking her again before you took your normal seat in the dining room. Your normal place was a two person table. You usually ate alone unless Tony wasn't working, but that was rare. He was Iron Man after all. He was on almost every mission and had patrols nearly every night. Plus he had to be a mentor to the younger Avengers. 

You looked up at the sound of chains and weren’t surprised when Loki approached your table, though you were a bit curious why he was alone or with you most of the time instead of with the older Avengers.You would dwell on that thought another time.Right now, you noticed that Loki had his own plate of dinner in his hands.“May I join you?" he asked. He sounded scared, like he wasn't going to like you answer, and like he didn't like being vulnerable. He still put on his calm court facade, as though it didn't matter to him if he joined you or not.

You saw through the lie.

You gestured to the chair on the other side of the table, offering it to him. "Of course," you replied, warmly. He took the seat as gracefully as he could in chains. You opened my mouth to offer to help him, but you could tell from the set of his jaw and the glint in his eyes that it wouldn't be appreciated. Once he was seated, you both started to eat, discussing the series of books you had lent him while you did.It was a fun companionable conversation while you argued over characters and plot points and what the characters _should_ have done throughout the story.

About halfway through dinner, you heard a roar from the doorway. That wasn’t terribly uncommon in the tower, especially when there were new recruits.You looked up to see what it was, concerned only because roaring in the dining hall was a bit odd.

Loki moved before you even finished turning to face the doorway. He was standing in front of you, directly between you and whatever had made that roar, despite that he was chained and could hardly be expected to defend himself, much less you too.

You stood and peered around him to see what was going on. "I thought I told you to stay away from her!” Tony roared as his armor formed around him. He rushed over and grabbed Loki by the throat, holding him off his feet against the nearest wall.

“Uncle Tony! No!" you shouted, rushing over to them. Tony pushed you aside, trapped in his anger at Loki. “Uncle Tony!" you snarled at him and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him, to haul him away from Loki. "He hasn't done anything except help me with my homework. Let him go!" you ordered, trying to sound more firm than a girl without powers in a tower of superheroes should. Tony growled. Loki wasn't even trying to fight him. “Uncle Tony!" you tried again to snap him out of it, tugging uselessly at the arm Tony was holding Loki off the ground with.

Tony slapped you away, hard, with his free hand. You went flying across the room from the impact, slamming helplessly into the wall on the other side of the long dining room and fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. You couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.Everything around you was pain. Tony gasped in horror and dropped Loki as he ran to your side. "Kat, Kat, are you ok? Kat, I'm so sorry,"

You blinked through the haze of pain and tried to sit up. The world was spinning and the action of opening your eyes just made you hurt worse. You couldn’t tell what was wrong with you, there was just too much pain.Tony in the suit had had super strength after all. You coughed and fell back to the floor, tasting your own blood.

"Take these chains off. Let me help her," Loki ordered Tony in a snarl. He had rushed to your other side, kneeling next to you. Tony hesitated. "Let me heal her," Loki insisted.

"If you do anything-" Tony started.

"I know, you will kill me dead," Loki interrupted Tony's tirade. "You hit her at full strength. Her skull is cracked and she is bleeding internally. It is a miracle she is not dead already. Seeing as she is the only one in this whole building who has been remotely pleasant to me since I have arrived, I would like very much for her not to perish." He held his wrists out to Tony, who hesitated a moment longer before he removed the chains. Loki turned his attention to you. "Stay with me, love," he whispered. He laid one of his cold hands on your head, the other on your stomach. His hands were glowing with a green light. Instantly, the pain began to ease. You could breathe again and could practically feel the crack in your skull knit itself back together. "There now," he cooed, his voice honey and sweet, soothing and you felt yourself drifting on a haze of healing magic. "You will be alright now." Loki turned to Tony. "She will live, but she should still be taken to the infirmary." Tony nodded. He snapped the cuffs back onto Loki's wrists.

"Thank you," he said curtly, only because he had to. Loki didn't protest the treatment. Tony swept you up off of the ground into his arms. You tried to protest, he was the one who hurt you and he was being unfair. "I'm sorry Kat. I'm so, so sorry," he whispered as he carried you off to the infirmary. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. Not at you. Never at you," he murmured. "Please, she needs help!" he called into the infirmary as he carried you inside.

"What happened?" a nurse asked as she indicated an empty bed for Tony to lay you on.

"An accident. She has had a healing from one of the supers, but I still want her looked over." Tony explained. You eyes were heavy and you were barely able to focus on the conversation around you. "Kat, stay awake," Tony told you firmly when he saw you dozing off. You blinked a few times, trying to focus on him. One of the doctors rushed over to examine you.

"She has a concussion and will be in pain for awhile. I recommend that she spend the night here. She can return to her own room to finish recovering tomorrow," the doctor told Tony.

"Kat, I'm so sorry," Tony whispered and kissed your forehead.

“Tony, Fury wants to see you. Now," a voice said from the doorway.

"She'll be safe with us," the nurse told Tony as they were setting you up with an IV of fluids and something for the pain. "You don't want to keep Fury waiting." Tony kissed your forehead again.

"Feel better, Kat," he bid you before he turned to leave. He really didn’t want to keep Fury waiting

"Kat, dear, tell us what happened," the nurse said after he had left. You sat up and coughed, the action hurt ever part of you.You should have bene sleeping by now.All you wanted to do was sleep.

"I was having dinner with Loki-” you started, fighting through the pain to speak.

"Loki did this?" the doctor interrupted, jumping to the wrong conclusion. You shook your head, though it made your head swim..

"No, it was Uncle Tony,” you replied, forcing out the words. You hated throwing Tony under the bus, but he deserved it for this one.And Loki was innocent.“Uncle Tony came in and was upset that Loki was having dinner with me. He grabbed Loki and held him against the wall by the throat. I tried to stop him, but he slapped me, threw me across the room." You coughed again and laid back down, too exhausted to keep sitting up. "Loki healed me enough that I could be brought here," you added. It was important.They needed to know that Loki had helped you.He wasn’t a bad guy.He wasn’t a villain. 

The nurse nodded her understanding.“Rest now, dear. You need sleep to heal." With that, you closed your eyes, allowing the pain meds and exhaustion from healing to lull you to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

You woke, hearing familiar lines spoken in an unfamiliar accent: “She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time." The words were familiar, from one of your favorite books, A Little Princess. The voice reading them wasn't your parents' or even Uncle Tony’s, though. It was a male voice, warm as honey with a British accent. You opened your eyes and looked over at the speaker, trying to think through the fog in your mind to determine who it was. You could finally see that it was Loki, sitting in the chair next to your infirmary bed. He paused his reading when he heard you move.

"Loki?" you asked, your voice a hoarse croak as you moved to sit up slowly, your body heavy and sluggish from whatever they’d given you for the pain. You saw the concern in his expression, in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. You nodded.He clearly wasn’t convinced when he asked: "How are you really feeling?" he rephrased the question in order to get the truth out of you.God of lies, of course he could change the question to suit his needs. 

"Like I flew across a room and hit a wall at full speed," you admitted with a groan.The pain meds were wearing off quickly now that you were awake.

"I did not mean to wake you. You should get more rest,” he told you gently.With a quick glance around to look for onlookers, and a mischievous grin, he reached one glowing hand out to you and touched your cheek, the chain between his wrists still clanging at every movement.

You didn’t know what he was doing at first, until the pain left you in a moment and you were filled with a warm honeyed feeling.His magic was drawing you back down to sleep no mater how much you struggled against it.

"Cheater," you murmured as your eyes were fighting to shut.

"Rest, love. You are safe and you need to heal," he told you gently as he helped you lie back down.

"Thought you couldn't do magic in chains," your voice was getting slurred as you fought to stay awake a little longer.

"So do they," he replied gently with his Cheshire cat grin. "Now rest." You eyes closed and you fell back into the depths of sleep.

*

It felt like hours later when you finally woke again. You sat up much more steadily this time and the pain didn’t return immediately. Loki was still by your bedside, reading a book silently this time. One of the nurses came rushing over. "He refused to leave your side," she indicated Loki. "He wasn't doing any harm, so we didn't force the issue, but we can make him leave…” she offered.You shook your head.

"No, he can stay, but can I go back to my own room soon?" you hated hearing the whine in your voice, but you wanted to get out of this hospital environment. It reminded you too much of being in the actual hospital after you parents died.

"As soon as the doctor checks you out," she replied gently. She scurried off to go get the doctor in question, seeing the desperation in your eyes to get out of here.

You looked over to Loki when she had left and saw he had looked up from his book. "Has Uncle Tony come back?" you asked him, wondering why he was in the spot you expected Tony to be in. You also expected that their arguing would have woken you. The two clearly seemed to hate each other.You also couldn’t imagine Tony staying away while you were hurt, especially when it had been his fault. 

Loki shook his head.“Director Fury is keeping him away. I believe he is receiving some sort of punishment duty for what he did,” he explained with a shrug.You felt bad for your uncle if that was the case, but you couldn’t really be surprised.You _could_ be surprised that Tony actually agreed to _do_ the punishment duty.He didn’t listen to anyone.Except Pepper.And apparently occasionally Fury.

The doctor finally came over, did his examination and cleared you to leave, sending you back to your room with pain meds and instructions to not exert yourself. You were also warned that you were going to be very sore for awhile. Loki stepped out of the infirmary room while you dressed in the pajamas someone had gotten from your room. It would be no use struggling into real clothes just to change again when you made it upstairs. "We can't spare anyone from down here today to take you up to your room. Do you want us to call one of the girls?" The nurse asked, offering to call one of the supers to help you.

You shook your head firmly."I can make it upstairs by myself," you told her, giving her a well-practiced reassuring smile. You didn't need a babysitter.

"I will make sure she arrives safely to her chambers," Loki spoke up while the nurse and doctor were arguing about letting you go on your own. "I am returning to my own chambers anyway. It would be no trouble to escort Lady Stark.” Both the nurse and doctor visibly hesitated, but you walked over to Loki, a bit shaky and very sore. You were sure you were limping and hobbling like an old lady. Loki stepped toward you, reaching to steady you, but his chains prevented that, at least easily.

You smiled up at him, appreciating the gesture. "I'm fine," you reassured him.Maybe if you told the lie enough times, people would start to believe you.Maybe.

You led the way out of the infirmary before anyone could protest anymore. You were tired and really just wanted to go back up to your room.Loki took a few long strides to catch up with you, clearly surprised you were moving so quickly with how much you were hobbling. He offered you his arm when he caught up.

You gave him a warm smile and laid your hand on his offered arm gratefully, letting him escort you, as he said he was going to. Neither of you mentioned how much you were leaning on him.“You were injured because of your friendship with me," he said as you walked to the elevator. You just weren’t up to taking the stairs that day.Which you felt was understandable, given the circumstances. 

"I was injured because my uncle lost his temper," you replied firmly as you and Loki stepped into the elevator. "It's not your fault. Uncle Tony can't dictate who I can be friends with,” you told him just as firmly.It was an old argument with Tony who wanted to do what he thought was best for you.NO matter what you thought about the subject.“Thank you for healing me," you aded a moment later, changing the subject as you got into the elevator.

"I could not let you die," he replied, sounding upset that you had even implied he would.

"I didn't say you would, but there were other ways besides using magic. You could have let them cart me off to the infirmary to heal the mortal way,” that would have sucked ass, but it was something he had been within his rights to do.He was under no obligation to heal you.

"You are still healing the mortal way," he reminded you dryly. It wasn’t lost on him that you were basically one giant bruise and leaning on him for support.

You looked up at him.“The only reason I'm standing right now instead of lying in a hospital bed is due to your interference and we both know it.” The elevator dinged and you entered the hall that your rooms were on. You stopped in horror when you were walking past one of the mirrors in the hallway.

"What is the problem?" he asked, concerned as you stared at yourself. The entire left side of your face was one giant purple and green swollen bruise. You reached a hand up to touch it. Loki grabbed your wrist, stopping you. "It will only hurt if you touch it." He told you gently. "It will fade in a few days, a week at the most depending on how stupid your uncle is," he said the final words with a mischievous grin.

"What did you do?" you asked him. His mischievous grin said that he was up to something. 

"Just avoid touching it and it will not pain you," he replied without giving any more information than that.Unhelpful god.

"That's not helpful, Loki," you reminded him, but you were tired and still needed to heal, so you didn't argue any further. You opened the door to your room when you and Loki reached it. Loki stopped you before you could go inside. "Wha-" you started stupidly, but he walked in past you, checking the safety of your three rooms before he let you enter.He was just like all the other supers around here.

“Your rooms are safe," he finally told you, seeming pleased with himself. You fought not to roll your eyes.He meant well. You entered your sitting room, joining him."I leave you here in safety.” You couldn’t help being surprised that he was actually going to leave you alone.It seemed out of character for him when he’d gone through all the trouble of walking you up here."I am just across the hall if you need anything, but it would be better for your safety were your uncle not to find me in your chambers when he comes to check on you." You didn't know how to argue with him, despite not really wanting to be alone. He was right. Tony would kill him if he caught him in your room.

"I'll leave the sitting-room door unlocked if you need more books, you're welcome to come help yourself," you finally replied. That was the best you could offer him right now.You weren’t in shape to defend him against Tony and he wouldn’t defend himself.

"That is a very kind offer. Until later, Lady Stark,” he lifted your hand and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles before he left you alone in your suite. You gathered the new books Tony had bought you and went to your bedroom to make a nest of blankets on your bed where you could spend the day reading and watching Disney movies.

You weren’t interrupted until Helene came to bring you dinner. You jumped up to greet her when your bedroom door opened. "Helene, you didn't have to come up here!” You protested. You never asked for or expected special treatment from her.She had a lot of work to do taking care of so many supers. "You should have just called me, I would have come down for dinner." You continued your protesting. 

She just smiled and shook her head."You aren't well. I wasn't going to make you come downstairs. Leave the plate on your coffee table. I'll come collect it later. Get some rest, dear," she bid you as she left to take care of the rest of her duties. You knew that by tomorrow you would be tired of resting, though you weren’t looking forward to going back to school and making up all of the work you had missed either. Or all of your classmates seeing the giant bruise on your face. That was a problem for tomorrow-Kat. Right at that moment, you had to focus on resting, on getting better, on healing.

Tony came to visit later that evening. He was dressed for patrol, though, so you knew he didn’t have much time. He rushed to your side as soon as he came in. He hadn’t even bothered knocking before he barged into your room.Any other day you’d kill him for that, but you let it slide that day, with everything that had happened.“Kat! You're out of the infirmary. Thank god!” He exclaimed. Then he got a good look at your face and faltered.You saw him pale, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry, Kat. I never meant to hurt you,"

"I know," you told him. You really did know he hadn’t meant it.That hadn’t meant he hadn’t still done it.And that things would have been a lot worse had Loki not been there to save your life.

"I couldn't, couldn't stand seeing you with that monster. He's dangerous, Kat," he tried, and failed, to press that point upon you.

"He's no more dangerous than any of the other supers around here," you reminded him coldly. It was a bit cruel of you to remind him of that fact right that moment, but you hadn’t cared.He needed to be brought down a peg, and seeing what he’d done to you was, unfortunately, the fastest way to do that. He at least had the grace to look ashamed.

He sighed heavily. "Just be careful, Kat. We can't trust him. I know your heart is too big and you seem able to make friends with everyone, just please be careful,"

"I _am_ being careful," you replied.Really, you were.It wasn’t your fault that Tony had lost his temper and taken it out on you.

"I have to go, will you please lock your door for once?" he asked with a smirk.He knew you too well. You ignored that request and got out of bed to see him out of your room. He would be gone the rest of the night for patrol.

"Be careful," you bid him instead of promising to lock your door.Which you wouldn’t do. He reluctantly left you to go on his patrol. You knew he would be back just fine. Patrol was mostly helping the police. It was when they went on missions that you really worried. That was usually when they were dealing with villains, actual villains trying to take over the city or worse.

You closed your sitting-room door, but left it unlocked for a certain bookworm. You saw that Helene had returned and taken your dinner plate away, but there was something new on the coffee table, a book that wasn't yours. You picked it up and saw the note placed on top of it in an elegant script in a masculine hand.

<This is a collection of children's tales from Asgard. I have cast an illusion on the text so it will appear in English for you. I thought you might enjoy the stories. >

You smiled and took the book and the note into your bedroom. After a nice hot shower to wash away the last of the hospital smell from your skin, you curled up to enjoy the borrowed book.

-Thank you for lending me the book- you texted Loki before you went to bed that night, tales of Asgard floating through your dreams that night.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no editing went into this chapter.

You woke curled around Loki's book when your alarm went off the next morning for school. You contemplated being lazy for another day. You certainly could have gotten away with it, but you also couldn't just sit in the tower all day with the supers feeling sorry for you.

So you climbed stiffly out of bed and shrugged into your uniform, grateful for once about not having to choose an outfit to wear. It took longer than usual to get dressed with how sore you were and by the time you made it downstairs, Helene already had breakfast ready for you. You didn't see any of the supers around except for Loki, who was reading on your usual couch.Apparently, he had decided to claim the other half of the couch for himself.You didn’t mind.“Morning, Loki!” you called and waved as you passed the common room on your way to the kitchen and your breakfast

You ate your breakfast as fast as you could.You knew you’d need the extra time to get to class if you had to walk it.And today you definitely weren’t waking Tony to drive you.You contemplated taking his car and driving yourself to school.You had your license after all. And Tony deserved it, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d kill you for it that afternoon.

You slung your bag over your shoulder as soon as you dropped your dishes off with Helene with a thanks.You waved to Loki again as you headed toward the exit.“I’ll see you after school,” you promised.You practically saw his hackles rise as he jolted to his feet and rushed over to you, concern etched in his expression. 

"You are returning to school today?" he asked.You could hear the worry in his tone.

"It's kind of an every Monday through Friday thing," you replied dryly with a perfectly perfected eye roll.You were a 17 year old girl after all.You had the eyeroll down to a science.

"You are still injured," he argued.He looked ready to toss you over his shoulder and carry you back to bed.

You grumbled at his overprotectiveness.He really was just like all the other supers.“I can't just sit around here having all of the supers pitying me because I don't have super fast healing like all of them and I'm not as sturdy and unbreakable as they all are," you replied hotly, your sentence running on as you tried to convince him. "If I'm not here, they can't pity me."That part seemed perfectly logical to you. 

Even Loki seemed to agree that that part at least was logical.You practically saw the gears turn in his mind while he looked for another argument.“Your uncle is not escorting you?" he tried that angle.

"He's still asleep and I'm not waking him. I can walk to school by myself," you protested.You were 17.You could walk.

"Is there not anyone who can escort you?" he tried again, worried and overprotective.You sighed heavily.You were wasting time arguing with him. Why couldn't they understand that you could walk to school by myself?It wasn’t _that_ far. Loki lifted his hands to indicate the shackles. "I cannot escort you, but I dislike you going out without some form of protection."

You smiled at that; that you had an argument for. You reached into your bag and pulled out your can of mace and the taser Tony insisted you needed to carry."I have human protections," you explained to him, knowing that he might not know what either item was. He nodded, accepting your words and explanation. You tucked the mace in your pocket for easy access with a promise that you would use it if you were threatened.

Loki walked you to the main entrance to the compound.He stopped you again at the door and reached a hand toward your injured cheek. "Allow me to do this for you at least?" he asked gently. You didn't know what he planned, but he was asking you to trust him, which you did. You nodded, knowing he wouldn’t hurt you. He placed his cool glowing hand against your skin for a moment. "There, the mortals will not see the bruise. There is no reason to draw their attention to your vulnerability,” he pause, letting that information sink in.“Do not forget that illusions cannot be touched," he reminded you.

"Thank you," you replied with a smile bright smile. "I really do need to get going or I'll be late for class." He still looked worried, so you added: "Will it make you feel better if I text you when I arrive safely?" you saw his look of open relief that you had come up with a solution.

"Very much so,"

"Then I will," you told him warmly. "I'll see you this afternoon," you promised and turned to leave. He let you go and you rushed off to school. You were running later than you’d like, but you still had plenty of time to make it to class, provided your sore body could keep up a pace that was better than hobbling little old lady. It was then you realized that your soreness seemed to have dissipated with the illusion over the bruise.You had a feeling you should 'blame' Loki for that, but you definitely weren’t complaining.

You made it to school in plenty of time to spare. The first thing you did was send Loki, and then Tony because you were feeling generous, text to let them know you had arrived safely. After that, you stopped by the office with the note the doctor had given you yesterday when you left the infirmary. Your absence was excused, of course.There was no doubt with the Avenger’s own healer writing the excuse note for you.And when Tony Stark himself had called you out sick the day before.

You put my phone on vibrate so it wouldn't ding during class. Right before you entered the classroom, you got two texts back to back.

-I am relieved. Have a good day.- from Loki.

-WHAT? Why are you out of bed? Who took you to school?- from Tony. You shouldn't have been generous that morning after all. You sighed at your annoyingly overprotective uncle.

-I walked to school myself. I'm fine. I'm not sitting around the compound all day. Class is starting. Save your yelling for later- You texted Tony back and shoved the phone back in your pocket. That afternoon wasn't going to be fun, but you could ignore it until then.

The rest of the day was dull, except that you got twice the amount of homework as usual, since you had to make up for the day you had missed. Really, it was shaping up to be a pretty awful day.You left school that afternoon to find Tony's car waiting for you outside. You weren’t surprised at all. Of course he would make sure you were picked up from school. You _were_ a little surprised that he was the one in the car. Usually, he was on patrol by then.You got in the car and were met with his glare.

The glare softened a moment when he remembered something."What happened to your bruise?" he asked gently.

"Makeup," you lied quickly. You didn't want to get Loki in trouble for doing illusions he wasn't supposed to be able to do while he was shackled. Tony nodded, accepting the lie. He had no idea how makeup worked, so he wouldn't notice that it was a lie.You weren’t actually sure you _owned_ any makeup, but Tony didn’t need to know that.

"Why didn't you get someone to take you to school?" he asked, trying to sound calm.You heard the effort in his tone to stay calm.

"The only ones up this morning were Loki and Helene," you replied logically. Helene didn't leave the compound while she was on the clock and Loki wasn't allowed to leave. They had put him on house arrest until they could trust him.

"You should have woken me, or someone," he growled the reply.

"I should have taken your car," you snarked back at him. "I'm not going to wake the supers who were up all night on patrol, not when I'm perfectly capable of going to school by myself. It's perfectly safe to walk a few blocks in the middle of a weekday. I know you're concerned because I'm only human and the villains know who I am. Help is always within shouting range of the school. I know you have patrols going by at least every half hour and every super will come running if they hear me scream for help."

He nodded, then, but reluctantly.Your words were completely accurate.”I’d still feel better if you had someone walk with you. Even Loki once he gets off of house arrest. It should be soon. Fury seems impressed with him so far.Or wants him to make himself useful.One of the two.It’s hard to tell,”

"Why is Fury impressed?" you asked, truly interested now.That didn’t seem like Director Fury at all.

"He's been having Loki come demonstrate his abilities and get some training in. We’re working on engineering a better device to limit his abilities. Once that's done, he'll be allowed off of house arrest, though it will probably still be awhile longer before he's allowed on patrol or missions." Tony explained.At least he kept the tech talk simple that day.You nodded and couldn’t help being glad that Loki would be unshackled soon. It wasn't fair when he wasn't doing anything wrong.

You arrived back at the compound quickly. "I can't stay, I have to get to work. Will you be ok?" Tony asked you.

You nodded."I'm fine, Uncle Tony," you replied. He nodded and you waved as you split up.You went to your room while Tony went to the 'official' wing of the compound to do whatever work he needed. You waved to Loki on the couch on your way to the stairs and quickly headed to your room.You changed into your pajamas when you made it there. You didn't feel like dealing with propriety tonight, and you trusted Loki, even if the rest didn't yet.

"How was school?" Loki asked when you returned and took your spot on the couch.

"Fine. Except I have double the amount of homework, since I missed yesterday," you whined. "Thank you for the illusion," you added quietly enough to not be overheard by the other supers in the room who were obviously snubbing Loki. "It really helped with the humans." You noticed the illusion had vanished after you had changed clothes. You figured you must've accidentally touched it while you were changing. You didn't mind too much; the illusion had done its job and kept the cops from being called.

One of the teen supers came over after they had noticed the bruise on your cheek that was only slightly healed at this point. Her name was Wanda and she usually tried to make you feel welcome, even though you were only human and she had _so_ much power, thanks to Loki’s scepter. “Is he bothering you, Kat?" she asked you gently, with a small glare at Loki.You shook my head, confused and dense as to what had drawn her over to your couch.She didn't usually come see you. None of them did. Not really, though you tried to be friendly. 

"Not at all. We were just discussing the books I lent him and he was going to help me with my math homework here in a few minutes," you told her with a smile. She looked at you with open disbelief on her face.You were missing something important here.

"Lady Y/N, I believe your friend is trying to ask you if I am the reason behind the bruise on your face," Loki said, trying to sound disinterested.

You shook your head firmly. "This isn't his fault,” you told Wanda, speaking loudly enough that the supers on the other side of the room in front of one of the other TVs would be able to hear. “Uncle Tony hit me.It was an accident,”

"Tony?" she asked, clearly disbelieving.

You nodded. "Tony. He threw me across the room and into the wall. Loki healed me afterwards or I'd still be in the infirmary fighting for my life," you explained succinctly and clearly so there could be no confusion. She made a few more comments of chitchat, and tried to get more information, but she was finally appeased and went back to the others. You slumped back among the cushions on the couch. That conversation had been exhausting.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked with concern. You gave him a tired smile. You didn't want to talk about how exhausting that conversation was. You didn't want him to think you were some weak little human like everyone else seemed to.

"I'm fine. Hey, you want to watch some of the movies about the team once I get my homework finished?" you asked him with a grin of your own.He was in a couple of them.

"That sounds enjoyable. Would you like help with your homework?" he asked, since you had lied and said he was going to help you.

"That would definitely get us to movies sooner," you replied with a mischievous smile of your own. He replied with his own cheshire cat grin and the pair of you got to work. You did most of the work yourself, but got his help with the math, which really wasn't your strong suit. You needed to get better at it, but didn't think that would be hard with all the help you had between Tony and now Loki.

You were beyond grateful when you could finally put your classwork away, done for the day.

"What do you plan to do once you have completed your schooling?" Loki asked you before you could get up to go get the movie. You looked over at him, shocked by the question. No one ever asked about your future plans. They all assumed that you would become a super at some point and join the team.

"If I don't get superpowers, then I'm going to become a doctor and work here fixing up everyone's wounds after missions," you told him, admitting your plans, and admitting that you had a contingency plan if you never developed powers. Not everyone did, but more and more supers kept appearing since magic had burst through the world. 

Loki thought that over for a moment. "Very ambitious plans," he finally commented.

You smiled warmly, glad someone approved. "It'll be hard work, but all things that are worth doing are." You left him contemplating that while you got up and went to the movie shelf to grab the first of the movies featuring Loki. You set the movie up to play on the TV by your couch and hobbled your way back to your spot. 

Loki watched me with worry. I tried to give him a smile, but I knew he didn't believe it. "Your pain has returned?" he asked softly, displeased. You nodded.You really didn't feel like lying to him when he could obviously see that you were in pain. You sat down on the couch and pulled your legs up, curling up like a kitten. He touched your bare foot with his cold hand, pretending like it was an accident. You felt the healing magic flow from him. You recognize what it was now that you’d felt it a couple of times.You knew he was trying to hide that he was using magic he wasn't supposed to have access to. You smiled over at him, but didn't say anything. You weren’t going to draw attention to his secret when he wasn't hurting anyone. Hell, he was helping you.You definitely weren’t going to turn him in for that.Once your pain had eased, he pulled his hand back to himself.

Loki spent the movie making comments about the characters and the plot, grumbling about how he wasn't evil and Thor's character was stupid. You laughed at his comments and explained human things he had questions about. You tried to ignore the looks you were getting from the supers, but it was hard, so you focused on having fun watching the movie with Loki instead.

Helene called to you from the kitchen just as the first movie ended. "Kat, dinner's ready,"

"Thanks, Helene," you replied. You stood and headed to get your plate from her. You looked to Loki who hadn't moved from the couch. "Aren't you coming?"

"In a minute," he replied, yet again. You shrugged and got your dinner from Helene. You took your normal table and weren't surprised when Loki came to join you a few minutes later. You’d give him another couple nights of the weird behavior before you asked why he was acting that way.

It wasn't long before the rest of the supers came to have dinner too. "There are more of these movies?" Loki asked, drawing your attention from the staring eyes of the others.

"There's two more with you in them on DVD. There are plenty of other superhero movies featuring some of the other team members. There's also a third movie with you in theaters right now. If you like the rest of the movies, we can go see it...once you're off house arrest of course," you added, so he didn't feel bad about turning you down right then. 

"That sounds enjoyable," he replied warmly. He really did sound interested and you saw in his expression that he meant it and wasn't just saying the words to spare your feelings.

You found yourself yawning halfway through dinner."Is this you?" you asked, feeling more tired than you should. He shook his head, but you didn't quite believe him.

"You do still need to rest. You are still healing, lady,” he said gently.

"You're right, of course. Or maybe you're just tired of my company," you complained sleepily as more of the honeyed warm feeling flowed over you.It was definitely Loki influencing you.

"Never. As I told your uncle, you are the only one here who has been pleasant to me since I arrived. Now, please go upstairs and rest. We shall watch more movies tomorrow," you nodded and moved to take your plate back to Helene. Loki stopped you. "I will do that," he protested. That once, you didn’t argue and gathered your things and went up to your blanket nest in your room to get some more rest.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the week went in much the same way. You had class during the day. Tony made sure he was awake to take you to school and either he or Nat would pick you up afterwards. Loki helped you with your homework and spent most afternoons and evenings with you. The rest of the time he spent reading and being ignored by everyone else. You wondered how he would ever join the team if they wouldn't give him a chance.

You healed from your wounds by Friday thanks to Loki's illicit help. Tony wasn't pleased that you and Loki spent so much time together, or that you were friends at all, but he kept his feelings to himself.He’d learned his lesson when you’d been hurt. When he’d hurt you. He wouldn’t risk you being hurt again.Especially not by him.

Friday night, you put the last of the Loki movies on the TV for you and Loki to watch. Tony came in before the movie started. "We're all going out on patrol tonight," he told you. "Everyone on active duty. We heard The Harlequin might be staging an attack."The Harlequin was one of the super villains who seemed to have acquired mutant abilities when magic entered the world again.They kept causing trouble for the team.

"Is Loki going with you?" you asked. Tony didn’t usually come tell you he was leaving.He went on patrol nearly every evening so he didn’t always tell you when he was going out, unless it was extra important.You would pause the movie and be just fine on your own for the night if he was.

Tony shook his head firmly. ”He's not cleared yet, and we're not up to babysitting tonight. This is too important. He's staying here. I don't like it, but you two will be the only ones here tonight," Tony handed you the giant dagger he was holding. Somehow you hadn’t seen the giant dagger in his hands.That’s something you should have noticed.“If he tries anything, stab him first, ask questions later,"

“Uncle Tony!" you exclaimed, trying to hand the dagger back to him. "We don't kill people!” you protested.That was one of the rules of superheroes. No killing unless absolutely necessary.

"I never said to, but you don't have powers and he does. I don't trust him and I want you safe," Tony told you.He wasn’t taking chances with your safety.He had to leave you and the reformed villain babysitting each other, but he wasn’t going to leave you helpless about it.No matter what you said. 

"He doesn't have powers right now," you reminded your uncle, who as a certifiable genius wasn't usually so stupid. He handed you one more item: a key.

"Loki, you're on guard duty, since you're the only one here with powers," Tony addressed him as quickly as possible before he turned back to you. "If something happens, unlock his chains," he told you. You knew that meant that you weren’t suppose to unlock his chains unless there truly was an emergency. 

Like that was going to happen.

You nodded and stuffed the key in the pocket of your pajama pants. You carefully set the dagger down on your end table and turned to give Tony a hug."Be careful," you bid him.It sounded like this was a bigger mission than usual if all of the supers were heading out.

"You too, kid,” he replied and ruffled your hair. He and the rest of the supers all went out on their patrols.

You turned to Loki and produced the key when they were gone. You grinned at him and walked over to him, your intent clear. 

"Your uncle said to only free me if there was danger," Loki reminded you.You knew he wanted free of the shackles, but he wouldn’t ask it of you or risk either of you getting in trouble over it.

"Actually, he said 'if something happens'," you replied as you unlocked the shackles around his wrists.

"And what, pray tell, will you tell him happened?" Loki asked dryly, rubbing his sore wrists from where the manacles had been rubbing his skin for days.

You shrugged, trying to look innocent.“Not planning to tell him anything. I just thought you'd like a few hours of freedom. We have at least that before they return from patrol. Besides, if something _does_ happen, I don't want to wait until I can manage to free you before you can stop it," he nodded, accepting your pragmatism. At least, he wasn’t going to argue too hard when you’d freed him.

You went to the kitchen and got the popcorn you had made for the movie. It had just gone off when Tony came to make his announcement about tonight's patrol.

"So what are your powers?" you asked Loki as you came back into the common room and placed the bowl of popcorn between you on the couch. Loki just gestured at the movie.

"They were fairly accurate," he admitted grudgingly, though unhelpfully. He clearly didn’t want to discuss it.“Though I can also heal, as you know," you nodded and settled on the couch, under a blanket, since it was cool in the common room that night.

"Are you also a frost giant?" you asked gently. He looked away, embarrassed.You should’ve dropped it then, but you were too curious for your own good."What?" you prompted when he didn't answer.

"They are called Jotuns,” he answered carefully. He still hadn't answered if he was one of them or not. You didn't force the issue. It wasn't an issue really, you already knew that he wasn't human.

Though you did wonder why he seemed so fascinated with you.

"So, will you show me any of your powers while you can use them?" you asked curiously before the movie started. He thought about it for a moment, then got to his feet. He offered you a hand and pulled you to your feet next to him. He wrapped one cool arm around your waist while he held the other in front of him with a look of concentration etched on his face. A moment later, green light surrounded the pair of you. When it faded, you were standing in a beautiful city with three moons in the sky.

"This is my home," he told you, leading you towards the golden palace. He told you the name of things, but they were in his native Asgardian, and you couldn't pick the words apart to remember them. You walked into the palace and he gave you the tour, even showing you his parents and siblings. After the tour of the massive library, and some of his favorite places in the city, the illusion faded and you were back standing in the common room.

"That was amazing!" you told him with true glee in your voice. "I've never seen any illusions that real." He let go of your waist quickly, as if he realized he was still touching you. You grinned at him. "Thank you for showing me," you added. It was always best to be polite. You could see he was flustered, though. Maybe he wasn't used to praise or thanks.

So you took your seat on the couch and started the movie, trying to contain your glee. He settled back into his own place on the couch a moment later and you saw him trying to relax.

After the movie, you switched on news and Loki went to reading, aka devouring, the latest book he had claimed from your collection. You curled up with the book he had lent you. You didn't devour books as fast as he did, but you also had less time than usual to read this week. You listened to the news as background noise, waiting to hear something about the patrols or The Harlequin. There was no news of either. That didn’t keep you from staying up too late waiting for the supers to return.

You didn't realize that you had dozed off on the couch until Loki shook you awake and held up the shackles. "You should return these before your uncle finds out what you did," he told you when you were coherent enough to look over at him with bleary eyes. You nodded.Somehow.You didn't want to, but Loki was right. You would both be dead if Tony found out what you had done.

"I'm sorry," you told him as you snapped the shackles back on his wrists.

"I know, lady Thank you for trusting me this evening," he replied, his voice gentle and kind.

"I always trust you," you reminded him, your voice still sleep fogged.

He shook his head.

"Not like this, not with my full powers." You shrugged; you didn't see the difference. You went back to your book and Loki went back to his. It was just in time. Tony came in a minute later, rushing to make sure you were ok. You smiled up at him.

"You're back!" You called, jumping to your feet to greet him. You wrapped your arms around his neck. You always worried when they went out in force like that.When every super was called out on patrol.

"Yes, I'm fine. There was no sign of The Harlequin or her clowns. Just a few normal criminals," he told you as he set you back on your feet from the hug. Tony didn’t hug much and you were one of the very few exceptions.“Did he behave himself?" he gestured at Loki with a cruel look in his eyes.

"Perfect gentleman," you replied sincerely. Tony didn't look like he wanted to believe you, but he knew you wouldn't lie, not about something that big. You handed the key back to him, because you had to and bit back a yawn.Though the action didn't convince Tony. He knew you’d been up since you’d had to get ready for school that morning.

"Off to bed with you, imp,” he told you. You stuck your tongue out at him and went to collect your book from your end table.

"Thank you for keeping me company, this evening," you told Loki warmly.You’d appreciated his company as well as the magic he’d done on your account.

"Goodnight, Lady Kathryn. Sleep well," he replied, inclining his head politely. You gave him a brilliant smile and headed up to bed. Tony stayed and talked to Loki while you did after telling you goodnight. You had the feeling he was trying to keep Loki from following you until you was safely in your own room, even though the pair of you had been alone in the tower for the last however many hours.

When you opened the door to your room, you found it absolutely covered in illusion roses. You grinned like an idiot when you saw them. They even smelled like real roses, though you saw the slight glimmer of green light that betrayed that they were fake. You took a picture on you phone and sent it to Loki.

-They're beautiful- was the message you attached with them.

-I am glad you like them- he replied. You were proud of him for catching on how to text so quickly.

You were grinning while you fell asleep that night surrounded by the scent of roses.

 


	9. Chapter 9

The next couple of weeks were filled with more of the same, though more people began to talk to Loki as he gained their trust. He didn't seem to trust them back, though, and still spent most of his time with you. He especially stayed away from Dr. Banner.Most of the older Avengers didn’t much like Loki because of the battle of New York, even if he had switched sides at the end of the fight.They had a hard time forgiving him for the things he’d done during the fight, despite that it was mind control.He and his brother Balder had both been in on bringing aliens to New York. Only Loki had switched sides.No one knew what happened to Balder after the fight.

You also realized that Loki was more open with you and formal to the point of coldness with almost everyone else. You’d have to help break him of that. 

Friday morning after three weeks of Loki moving in, you had the day off of school for a three day weekend. You slept in for once, grateful for the opportunity to sleep in. You were surprised when you finally made it downstairs to find that Loki wasn't there. It was later than usual, but you had still expected him to be in the common room. He was always there.“Helene, do you know where Loki is this morning?" you asked her after you had eaten breakfast. She wouldn't have told you before she made sure you ate something.She was overprotective like that.

“Fury called him to do some work in the official wing," she told you. She would tell you things around here that no one else would. 

You nodded and headed out that way to go surprise him. You figured he was doing some kind of training, or demonstration of his powers, something along those lines. You sat in on training sessions from time to time, and even played the part of the helpless victim for them occasionally, so it wasn't a shock for anyone to see you in this wing of the tower.You _were_ surprised when you were directed to a small room at the end of an abandoned hall after you asked where you could find Loki.

You heard screaming from inside the room and ran to find out what was going on. It wasn’t like you could do anything, but you had to try anyway.There were two guards outside, who weren't paying nearly enough attention. You shoved your way past them with no effort and into the room to find Loki tied to some kind of chair. One of the supers with lightning powers was electrocuting him. You stared in shock at the scene before you jumped into action.“What are you doing?!?!” you demanded with as much force and indignation as your 17 year old tiny powerless body could produce. One wouldn’t think that was a lot of force, but you’d learned a lot about presenting yourself well from Uncle Tony, and had it down to a science. 

You ran to Loki, putting your hands on him. They wouldn't shock Loki while they would shock you too. The electricity stopped before you could touch Loki. 

Fury glared at you."Get out of here, Kat," he ordered with a growl. You glared right back at him. 

"What are you doing to him?" you demanded, outraged at Fury’s behavior. "He hasn't hurt anyone since he's been here. What has he done to deserve this?" you snarled. You knew you were no match for Fury or any of the supers in the room, but you had to try anyway. 

"This is an interrogation. Get out," Superior ordered again. You held on to Loki tighter. You should call for help, but you had to get Loki out of here and you were alone.“We need information on the plans of that brother of his."

"I'm sure he's told you everything he knows," you protested. "He's been nothing but helpful since he got here. You have no reason to doubt him."

"It is alright, Lady," Loki told you, his voice hoarse and weak. They had clearly been doing this to him for awhile. "You do not wish to witness this. I will be alright." He tried to sound stronger than he clearly was.

"Have you told them everything you know?" you asked him gently. This was the fasted way to get him out of here. He nodded. "There, he's told you everything. Let him go. Enough of this." You practically shouted at Fury.

"He's lying," Fury protested.

"He's not." you insisted with conviction. You managed to unbuckle the restraints holding Loki to the chair. "I would know, since I'm the only one who has been spending with him since he got here," you reminded them all. At least they had the sense to look ashamed. Fury didn't even argue when you got Loki free from the chair.

"It's on your head if he's hiding anything. Can you live with that? Do you trust him enough for that?" Fury demanded, treating you like one of the team for once.You were standing up to him like one of the team. 

"I can live with that. At least I'm not torturing someone for information they obviously don't have," you shot back, sounding more like your uncle than you realized. You wrapped one of Loki's cool arms around you neck to haul him to his feet. You ducked your head under the chain between his wrists. It helped that he couldn't let you go when you did so. It took nearly all of your strength to manage it, but you got him to his feet and half dragged, half led him from the room. It took effort and he didn’t much help you, too weak to help more than just not fighting you. "I am ashamed of all of you. This is something villains would do. Not heroes. Never heroes,” you told all of the supers in the room.You helped Loki from the room and towards the living quarters. You didn’t know how you managed it, but somehow you got up to his room. You opened his door, surprised he didn't lock it and managed to get him to his bed. "Are you ok?" you asked him softly, gently. He looked so hurt and bruised and you didn't know how to help him.

"Are you going to get in trouble?" he asked in reply, more concerned over you than himself.You shrugged.

"Possibly, but I'm right and they all know it.I’ll talk to Uncle Tony and he’ll get me out of any trouble that might’ve caused,” you added. Tony could fix this. 

"You should not have done that," he replied, worry in his tone.

You glared at him for even thinking that.“Yes.I should have. It's what any decent human should have done, and they had no right to do that to you. You're obviously injured. What can I do to help?" you changed the subject, needing to help him, to prove that not all humans were evil.

He fwumped back on the bed."I just need to rest. I heal quickly,” he paused, considering something.“Will you stay with me?" he asked softly, hesitantly. He had hesitated before making his request, as though he didn't believe you would.

You gave him a warm, gentle smile."Of course, I'll stay and keep the big powerful god safe," you told him with a smirk. That earned you a soft chuckle. You sat down in a chair next to his bed and turned on his TV.Loki finally laid down and got some rest to heal.You spent that time carefully crafting a message to Tony to tell him what was going on.

About an hour later, there was a pounding on Loki's door. "Kat!? Are you in there?" Tony demanded. You sighed and got up to answer it.

"Shh, he's finally sleeping," you told Tony quietly when you opened the door. You were fully dressed, and Loki was tucked into his bed, finally sleeping soundly.

"What did you do to upset Fury?” Tony demanded. "It has to do with him," he gestured at the sleeping Loki. "Any why are you in here alone with him?"

"I stopped Fury from torturing him. They were 'interrogating'," you made the finger quotes "him for information he didn't have, or already gave them willingly. They were torturing him with lightning, Tony. I couldn't let them do that." you explained again with the emotions your text words couldn’t contain. Tony looked shocked.

"No one would do that." Tony protested softly.He didn’t want to believe it of the team, but he knew, he knew that you wouldn’t lie to him, and he knew that people, even supers, would.

"I'm not lying Tony. I saw them." He didn't want to believe you, didn’t want to believe the people he worked with could actually torture someone, but he didn't have a choice. You wouldn't lie to him and he knew it.Not about something this big anyway."I'm sure he already told them everything he knew."

"I'll talk to Fury. He's trying to ground you for all of eternity for this stunt.And I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” he added with a growl.

"Please, Tony. Don't let them do this anymore. He doesn't know anything else." He nodded.

"I won't, but why are you here with him?" he asked, unhappy about that part as well.You understood that, even if you didn’t like it since Loki hadn’t done anything to hurt you.

"He didn't want to be alone while he recovered," you finally answered defensively.Nothing was going on. "I'm just keeping him company, from the chair," you gestured to the chair where you’d been camped out watching Loki’s TV. Tony glared, but didn't argue.Barely.Because you wouldn’t lie to him, but arguing with you would just open you up to hiding things from him.

"Just don't do anything stupid, and don't get into any more trouble today, ok?" he asked with a grin.He wasn’t known for not being a troublemaker either. You smiled and gave him a nod, relaxing since he wasn’t pressuring you. "You do have too big of a heart for your own good, you know. I'll get you off the hook and make sure they know that he doesn't know anything,"

"Thank you." He nodded curtly and handed you the dagger again before he went to go deal with Fury. You rolled your eyes and took it, laying it on Loki's nightstand when you resumed your seat.

"Remind me to show you how to use that, after they have decided I no longer need shackles," Loki told you softly from the bed without opening his eyes.

You smiled at him fondly."You're supposed to be resting," you reminded him.

"Your uncle is loud," he murmured.

"He is," you agreed. "But he's gone now. Rest. I'll be here when you're well," you bid him gently. You stayed by his bed while he slept, a faint green glow surrounding him. You figured it was a healing spell, based on what you had experienced already. It was quite a few hours later before he woke again. "Hey sleepyhead, feeling better?" you asked him, gently.

He sat up, looking slightly confused. He nodded though when his head seemed to clear. "I am. Thank you for staying with me," he told me.

"It was no trouble,"

There was a knock on the door and you went to go see who it was this time. It was Tony again. At least he seemed calmer this time."You're grounded for a week," he told you. You breathed a sigh of relief.The punishment for that stunt could’ve been a lot worse."No leaving the compound except for school," you nodded your understanding. "But Fury admitted that you were right and his actions were unfitting of a hero. He still can't let you get away with disobeying him without some kind of punishment.” You knew all of this, but you figured he was explaining it for Loki’s benefit, since Loki had left his bed and was standing behind you. Tony looked past you to Loki and held up a large chunky bracelet to show him. "Superior said you've earned this,"

"What's that?" you asked before Loki could.

"It replaces the chains," Tony explained. Loki held out his wrists and Tony removed the chains, replacing the shackles with the one locking bracelet thing instead. "It limits his powers. I made it, so you can be damn sure it works. It will allow you to use your powers, but not to harm anyone. Except on missions and patrol. We'll go in to more details on that later. For now, just know that you've earned the promotion," Tony told Loki, who nodded. Tony’s words were stiff, he still disliked Loki from the battle, but even he had to admit that Loki wasn’t evil. Tony turned to you. "Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you go claim us a table. I'll eat with you before I have to go on patrol," you nodded.

"Will you be ok?" you asked Loki.

He inclined his head."I am well," he replied warmly, he seemed glad that you cared. "Go get your dinner." He gestured for you to leave. You hoped he would survive the 'don't hurt my niece’ speech he was about to receive from Tony.

You went downstairs right as Helene had finished making your plate. You took it to your usual table and waited for Tony to come join you. He did so and chatted with you about everyday, trying to make this a normal evening dinner. "All of us are going out on patrol again tonight. Loki will be here with you again. It's his assignment for the time being,"

"We'll be fine, Tony," you told him, rolling your eyes. He worried too much.

"Just be careful," he replied. You rolled your eyes again, but nodded and cleared the dishes, since he had to go on patrol and had to get ready. Before he left, he handed you the dagger again. "Please stop leaving this around haphazardly," he grumbled at you, wanting you defended. You laughed and saw him and his team to the door, bidding them a safe patrol.

When you turned from the door you saw Loki behind you. "Would you like to get started on lessons on how to use that?" he indicated the dagger in your hand.

"You know how?"

He nodded. "I was trained in many fighting arts. The dagger is my weapon of choice, besides magic of course."

"Of course," you replied with a grin. "Let's get started then."

For the first lesson, he didn't take you to a full training room. He was mostly showing you how to stand and how to hold the dagger correctly. He showed you a couple of basic blocks and attacks with the dagger and you practiced those for about an hour before you both grew too tired of the exercise. You had a feeling he only claimed to be tired to spare your feelings. You were human and hadn't done any kind of exercise before attempting dagger lessons. You were a book nerd after all.

After that, you returned to your customary ends of the couch to read while the news was on in the background. "Sorry we have to wait another week before we can go see the latest superhero movie," you told him apologetically.You had promised to take him to see it once he was free of the chains.

"I'm sure it will be just as good next week as it would have been this week," he told you dryly.

"Yes, but it's still my fault that you can't see it this week," you felt bad for getting grounded and ruining the plan.

"By saving me from unnecessary torture. I will gladly take the week delay to avoid more electricity," his tone was still dry.

"Are you sure you're ok now?" you asked him, concerned. They had really hurt him earlier.

"Yes, Lady. Do not worry over me. You forget that we heal quickly, and I heal more quickly than most," he still sounded pleased that you cared.You nodded and returned to your book. You had finished the first book of tales Loki had lent you and had moved on to more difficult stories from Asgard. He had taken care to use illusion spells so you could read them. At least he would be able to do so openly now.

The teams were out a lot later than you thought they would be. You felt your eyelids growing heavier and heavier as you tried to concentrate on the book, and then on the news when the book got too difficult. It was 2 or 3 in the morning.

You were only half conscious when you noticed the strong, muscled, cool arms lifting you from the couch and cradling you against an equally cool body, your head rested on their shoulder.

You stirred a little at being moved, at hearing loud, laughing, drunk sounding male voices. "The Triad has returned, but your uncle has not yet. It does not feel safe for you to be down here.” The Triad were three huge hulking brutes of superheroes who had powers in fire, water, and earth. They were all over 21 and often came back drunk after their patrols. You only had any trust of them because they were superheroes. You didn't blame Loki for wanting you out of that situation. He didn’t trust them with your safety.“Shh, love, you're safe," Loki whispered as he carried you upstairs. You were soothed back into near unconsciousness by his words and accent. You vaguely recalled him tucking you into your bed. "Goodnight, darling, sleep well." You thought you felt a kiss on your forehead before sleep claimed you.


	10. Chapter 10

You woke from a dream of cool arms lifting you, of being cradled to a cool strong body, of sweet honeyed words in a familiar accent. When you opened your eyes, it took you a minute to remember how you had gotten to bed. You felt yourself turn at least ten different shades of red when you remembered that your dream had been real. Or at least you thought it had been real. You’d have to get up the courage to ask Loki later. That wasn’t going to be easy.

You did see a new illusion rose on my nightstand, which kinda confirmed your ‘the dream was real’ theory. You smiled at it and finally got out of bed.

You went downstairs to find myself face to face with Fury. You tried not to cower away from him. He was the most powerful person here and the leader of this entire operation. You didn’t see him often, and you were sure he was still pissed at you for the previous day. He glared at you when he saw you. Yep, he was still pissed. “Things are heating up with The Harlequin. Everyone is stepping up to double and triple shifts to keep up with her and her clowns. There’s going to be few if any supers around here. I don’t want you taking advantage of the lack of supervision. You are grounded for a week. You are not to leave the compound for any reason besides school. I’d ban you from that too if I could,” he paused his tirade to let his words sink in.You nodded demurely, not willing to pick a fight with him over this.“Loki will be your guard, since we can’t bring him out to the field yet.” He held up the shackles that had been on Loki’s wrists for the last month. “If I get any indication that you are going to cause any trouble, you will be wearing these until the threat with The Harlequin is over. Understand?” he demanded.

“Yes, sir,” you replied meekly. You could play the meek little powerless human when it suited you.Fury turned and led you with a hand on the small of your back, pushing you into the common room where Loki was already on your couch with a book.You only didn’t protest the treatment since you were already grounded. 

“Loki, your first mission is dull, but you’re the rookie. You have to earn your keep and earn your place. You’re to guard Kat. 24 hour surveillance. Make sure she stays safe. And out of trouble.” Loki nodded his assent and you fwumped onto you spot on the couch.

“He acts like I’m a troublemaker or something. He’s just pissed about yesterday,” you grumbled. You really didn’t do anything to get in trouble for. Really.Loki chuckled.

“A little mischief is surely not a problem,” he purred the words and you couldn’t help remembering what he was the god of.

“He threatened me with chains for even thinking about causing trouble,” you reminded Loki grumpily. You didn’t want to get in _more_ trouble.“That doesn’t sound like fun,”

“What did you do to deserve such a threat and reputation?” he asked, curious.

You sighed heavily. “It was an accident,” you grumbled. “And it was last year. I went to the lab to look for something to dye my hair. I knocked something over, on accident, and all of the team’s costumes turned pink for a month until it wore off. There may have also been an explosion...” you told him. He started laughing, practically roll on the floor laughing.You glared at him. “He’s also gotten annoyed when I don’t play victim the way he wants.” Loki raised an eyebrow, so you elaborated. “I go help out with the training sometimes. They like for me to play the helpless victim, the person being rescued or guarded or whatever. I like to remind them that victims won’t always act logically. So I’ll do things like run the wrong way, start ‘hysterically crying’ and refuse to move, grab the nearest weapon to attempt to help them, etc,” Loki was roaring in laughter now and you couldn’t help joining him.

“It is good training for them,” he eventually said between laughs.

You nodded. “That’s what Fury reminds them every time my interference ruins the training plans...” you grinned. “But apparently that makes me a ‘troublemaker’ in his eyes,”

“A little mischief does not a troublemaker create,” he told you, with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“What are you planning?” you asked him. There were times you were too curious for your own good.He gave you his patented Cheshire cat smile.

“Go get dressed and you will find out. Something you can work out in,” he called the last bit as you jumped to your feet to obey. Things were way more fun with him around and you didn’t want to miss the fun.

“Where do you think you’re going?” you heard Tony’s voice as Loki followed you up the stairs.

“Twenty-four hour surveillance. There is nothing I can do, I must follow her,” Loki mock-apologized. You hid your giggles. This was fun already.

“Kat? Where’s your dagger?” Tony demanded with a snarl.He wanted you protected and now it was backfiring on him. You brandished it with a flourish that Loki had taught you last night. It was an impressive looking move that didn’t do anything but look cool.Which is exactly why Loki had taught it to you.You saw Tony’s eyes go wide.

“Right here,” you told him innocently before re-sheathing said dagger with an equally awesome looking flourish.

“Where did you learn-?” Tony paused. You looked over at Loki who just shrugged.

“It seemed a pity for a lady to have such a weapon and not the instruction on how to use it,” Loki said with the tone of mock-innocence. Tony just sighed.

“I have to go to work. Can you two _try_ to behave?” He grumbled, mostly looking at you. You raised your hands in surrender.

“Fury already threatened me with chains until The Harlequin is dealt with. Don’t worry, Uncle Tony, there will be no trouble for me,” you told him with as much sincerity as you could muster. “I’ll even promise to stay out of your science lab.” He rolled his eyes, but gave you a hug goodbye and gave Loki a threat before he went to work.

“That threat lacked punch,” Loki commented as you walked up the stairs together. “He did not even threaten me with death this time,” he mused innocently.

“Maybe he’s starting to like you,” you told him with a grin.

“I highly doubt that. He does not like that I spend time with you,” he reminded you quite logically.

“He’s my Uncle. That’s what they do,” you replied with a shrug.

“What does he think will happen?” Loki asked when you reached the floor that your rooms were on. You gave him a mischievous grin, which made him pause just long enough.

Just long enough.

“This,” you replied, standing up on your toes to place a light, timid kiss on his lips. You darted away quickly while he stood there shocked. You didn’t stay to see his reaction. You didn’t want to see disappointment or anger, or any other of a dozen emotions. You didn’t know what his reaction would be, if he would want it or not. You were willing to play it off as a joke to save your friendship if that’s what it took.

You would.

You would take that step back, though you wanted more.

Instead, you felt a hand wrap around your arm and you were spun back to face Loki.He let go of your arm, but wrapped an arm around your waist instead. He held you to him, pressed against his cool body. He held you lightly, though, and you knew you could break away without any effort.

“If you are going to do that, darling, you should at least do it properly,” he purred as he pushed your hair away from your face, tucking a lock behind your ear.

“I don’t know how to do it properly,” you whispered. You’d never been kissed before.

“Then allow me to demonstrate,” he purred. He hesitated and looked into your eyes before he moved. “Unless you do not wish do. I will not kiss you against your will. I will not force you into a relationship,” he said softly, gently, seeking your consent.You nodded, though you couldn’t tear your gaze from his.

“I want this,” you whispered, barely able to get the words out through your anticipation. He leaned down and kissed you, softly, gently, chastely. He tasted of cool mint and a crisp winter’s day. Your heart fluttered with his cool lips, firm, but gentle against yours as he held you to him. He broke the kiss after a long minute and steadied you gently back on your feet. You smiled giddily up at him. “That was definitely the proper way to do that,” you finally told him.

He grinned and looked immensely pleased with himself. “I am glad my lady is pleased,” he replied. He reached behind you to open your suite’s door. “Now go change, we have more mischief to find.”

With a grin, you ducked into your bedroom to change into something less pajama-y and more work-out-y. He appraised your outfit when you returned to your sitting-room. He checked your bedroom for intruders, but didn’t enter with you while you changed.That wouldn’t have gone over well.“That will do.” He used magic to change his own outfit from the jeans and t-shirt he wore around the compound, to his black and green leather battle outfit.

“Cheater,” you grumbled, though you were feeling under dressed in your tank top and yoga pants. He laughed and held a hand out to you.

“Come, there is more to this day than one little kiss,” he prompted. You took his hand and let him lead you from the room. You laughed and couldn’t wait to find out what he had planned.


	11. Chapter 11

“Loki, this isn’t mischief, or fun,” you complained after a few hours of dagger and hand to hand combat lessons in one of the training rooms.You swore it was hours of training.You didn’t _do_ training.You read and did homework and were a nerd. That was it.You didn’t sweat or exercise or _do_ things.You swore Loki was trying to kill you.

“Not yet, it’s not,” he agreed with a chuckle. “You fail to see the long term fun here, darling.” You fwumped down on the mats, exhausted, and guzzled the water that appeared next to you.You weren’t sure you remembered how to move.Or think.Or breathe.You wanted to pass out and die.That might help you breathe.Or at least you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

“And what… long term.. fun.. is that?” you asked him panting as you tried desperately to breathe. Why was breathing so difficult? That was one physical activity you could usually do without trouble.Usually. 

“No one knows that I am teaching you, besides that uncle of yours, who is only aware that I showed you a party trick. Imagine Director Fury’s surprise the next time you play victim for him, when you can actually defend yourself,” Loki cooed, trying to entice you into continuing to train with him. “Besides, this is the only mischief I am willing to let you try to get away with, with your freedom on the line,” he reminded you that you were very much grounded. 

“This isn’t mischief,” you grumbled at him.

He laughed.“It got you to practice,” he replied with a smirk.It had all been a trick to make you train.Annoying god.

“Trickster,” you grumbled again, making him laugh even harder.

He finally stopped laughing and offered you a hand to help you back up.You let him haul you back to your feet.You were sure you didn’t help him at all in that endeavor.Your limbs felt like limp noodles. 

“One more round, my darling. You need to practice to be able to hold your own against … supers,” he reminded you, trying out the new word.He didn’t seem to much like it and nearly spat it out. 

“No more rounds,” you groaned. Your limbs already felt like jelly.You wanted to lie down in your bed and never get up again.That was reasonable, right?

“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement,” he suggested, his voice a purr. You looked up, interested despite your exhaustion.

“What kind of arrangement?” you asked warily, rising to the bait as you were too curious for your own good.You should’ve known better. 

He smiled, clearly pleased you were taking the bait.“One more round and I will give you a massage, help you ease those sore muscles,” he offered, his voice enticing.

That sounded lovely.You could lie in one spot while he rubbed your sore muscles. “Fine,” you moaned, it really was a very tempting offer.

You took your stance and the sparring match began again. You somehow made it another round and a half before you were so tired that you were making stupid mistakes and nearly got yourself impaled. Loki vanished the dagger just in time to avoid killing you, for which you were eternally grateful. He vanished your dagger as well, just to be safe. You looked up at him with a mix of battle haze and exhaustion, your hands automatically forming fists as you raised them to protect myself.He’d at least drilled that into your head.

“Enough, love, that is enough,” he held his hands up in surrender. It was then that you could finally relax, finally lower your guard, finally accept that the sparring was over. “You did well,” he told you and you heard the pride in his voice. He wrapped an arm around your waist and guided you back to your room.Or at least he started to.You only took a couple of steps before he teleported the pair of you to your bedroom. “Go shower, then I will give you that massage I promised,” he pushed you gently towards the bathroom.

You noted how he was refusing to go anywhere near your shower.He recognized that you weren’t of age.Nor were you in any shape to consent if you were. You turned 18 soon and Loki was 18 by Midgardian standards.He’d gone through the math with you one day when you were both bored.

You took a shower that was hot enough to burn a dragon, but that was the only way to ease your sore muscles enough to keep functioning. Why had you let him talk you in to nearly four hours of weapons training? You weren’t in shape enough for that. You _knew_ better.You were usually much more logical than that. 

He’d been really persistent.

You stumbled back out into your bedroom in a fresh tank top and pajama pants.You found Loki sitting on your bed, wearing only pajama pants. His raven hair was still wet; he’d clearly showered too. He patted the bed beside him. You took a moment to admire the view of him shirtless before you sat down nervously. He coaxed you to lie on your stomach and soon his expert fingers were kneading the sore muscles in your back. You purred and melted under his touch, even as he got the painful knots out of your back.

He pulled the blanket up over you when he had finished and you were practically asleep. You tried to sit up, but he just chuckled and pushed you back down. “Rest, love. I am proud of you, you have done a warrior’s work today. I will wake you for dinner.” He kissed your forehead. “Though I am sorry I pushed you too hard. I just know that I cannot always be around to protect you and I wish for you to be able to protect yourself.” With that, you drifted off to sleep, exhausted by too much strain on your bookworm body.

Loki woke you a few hours later. “Helene has sent word that dinner is ready,” he told you gently when you cracked open your eyes to look at him and see why he was disturbing your nap. You growled, but nodded and managed to get yourself out of bed.At least your muscles were way less sore than you had anticipated, though you were still sore. You walked to one of you dressers to find real clothes. “May I be of assistance?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes, reaching a hand out to you. You didn’t know what he had planned, but you took his hand anyway. You trusted him, even if most people wouldn’t.A moment later, green light shimmered over you and you were suddenly wearing a black and green floor length gown that looked like it came out of a fantasy realm or the renaissance festival and your hair was done in perfect coils down your back.

“Loki!” you exclaimed in mock exasperation as you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. “This isn’t practical,” you reminded him. The dress was lovely, but not at all practical.Loki rolled his eyes.

“But you look so beautiful,” he whined his protest with a grin.He liked seeing you like that. 

“Another night, Trickster,” you told him firmly.After weeks of being his friend you knew how to talk to him. “There is a... ball... my school is hosting in a couple months’ time.” You figured ‘ball’ was close enough of an explanation to explain the prom to him.

“You will wear the dress then?” he asked, seeming pleased by that development. 

“Only if you agree to go to the ball with me,” you replied with a smirk of your own. Two could play at that game.If he wanted you to wear the dress, he would have to go to prom with you.That was fair.

“I would not have it any other way,” he replied and bowed over your hand to kiss your knuckles. As he did, the green glow enveloped you again and you were in jeans, a hoodie that smelled remarkably of him, and fuzzy socks. He had noticed that you got cold easily.Of course he had, he was too observant for his own good most of the time.

“Thank you,” you told him as you cuddled in his hoodie. “Can you teleport us downstairs?” you asked with childlike glee. You hadn’t gotten to experience much of anyone’s powers. They were never used with you except in training and that was boring. He chuckled at your glee.

“Very well,” he replied. He wrapped an arm around you and held you tightly to him. You didn’t know if he really needed you so close to teleport us, but you wouldn’t ask for fear he’d see it as complaining. The green light enveloped you and you were suddenly on the first floor, standing right outside the kitchen. “Go get your dinner,” he told you as he let you go.

“Why do you always do that?” You asked him. Your curiosity got the better of you and you had to know.You had kept putting off asking, but finally had the courage tonight.

“Always do what?” he asked, all innocence.

You sighed and rolled your eyes at him, knowing he was avoiding the question. “Not come to get dinner until after I have my plate and I’m sitting at our table,” you clarified, though he knew perfectly well what you meant.He really had just wanted to avoid answering the question.

“To model good behavior for the others? To show respect?” he replied. There were multiple reasons and it wasn’t just a flippant answer.He paused before he gave you the real answer.“When I first got here, I was warned to let you eat first. The supers are all surprisingly protective of you. Helene makes your meals first, even though she should cater to those more powerful. Where I come from the most powerful or highest ranking eats first. But they chose to give that honor to you.”

You weren’t quitesure you entirely understood his sentiment, but you smiled, nodding your acceptance of his words and how he meant it as a courtesy. You went to get your plate from Helene and took your usual spot in the dining room. Loki joined you a minute later. You both devoured Helene’s delicious dinner. The day’s exercise had made you both starving. Helene grinned at you when you asked her if there was any more after your first plate was gone. You had a feeling that she was beyond delighted to be able to feed you seconds. Loki stood when you entered the room again and you blushed at the old fashioned courtesy and took your seat again quickly.

“Should we watch movies upstairs tonight, so you don’t have as far to carry me to my bed?” you asked him with a grin.

“I was wondering when you would get around to asking about last night,” he commented calmly and dryly.His dry tone made it clear that nothing had happened.Which you already knew. 

“So, what happened?” you asked gently.You did want to know the whole story instead of just what you remembered of the night.

“I carried you to bed, that is all,” he sounded hurt by that, like you hadn’t trusted him.

That wasn’t what you meant at all and you backtracked quickly.“I’m not implying more happened,” you told him firmly.“I was trying to find out why. You didn’t have to do that,”

“I wasn’t going to let you stay around those drunkards,” he replied with temper in his voice. “It wasn’t safe and I didn’t much feel like bashing all of their heads in for indecent thoughts or actions towards you, but I didn’t want to wake you, either. You seemed so peaceful. So I took you to bed,” he added.He kept talking, his nerves making him over explain.

“Thank you,” you offered him a warm smile. “That was very kind of you,”

“Anytime, love.”

With that, you finished your dinners, took your plates back to Helene and strolled back upstairs to your sitting-room. You had the nicer furniture and the better TV so you went to your room instead of Loki’s.Loki had to spend the evening with you regardless, twenty-four hour surveillance and all, so you might as well be comfortable.

You found a superhero movie on your DVD rack and set it up, before taking a spot on your couch. Loki sat with his arm on the back of the couch, an open invitation for you to snuggle up against him, which you did the moment the movie started, curling yourself against him and laying your head on his chest. He ran his fingers through your hair as you watched the movie.

You leaned up after the first movie, amazed that you’d been able to hold out that long. Loki looked down at you, concerned when you moved.You just smiled and sat up a little further so you could kiss him. You felt his smile as he shifted his arms to hold you more securely while he kissed you back. The kisses were gentle and chaste.He was a perfect gentleman and didn’t push past kissing, for which you were grateful. You weren’t ready for more. Not yet.You, however, greatly enjoyed your evening of kisses and movies.


	12. Chapter 12

You woke the next morning to find that you were using Loki’s lap as a pillow. That was strange and not how you remembered falling asleep.You remembered that Loki had covered you with a blanket during on of the movies you’d watched the night before.You must’ve fallen asleep during it. Oops.You sat up, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders. You were fully dressed and in your living room, so clearly nothing had happened.“Good morning,” he greeted you with a warm smile.

“Morning,” you replied sheepishly.You were sure you were blushing all sorts of shades of red. “You could’ve woken me. I’m sure sleeping sitting up on the couch wasn’t comfortable.” You were babbling, which you tended to do when you were uncomfortable. 

“Nonsense,” Loki chuckled.“Besides, I was not sleeping,”

“You stayed up all night?” you demanded incredulously. That wasn’t good for anyone, even a god. 

He shrugged in reply.“I _have_ mentioned before that I need less sleep than you do,” he replied, his tone teasing. “I am also on twenty-four hour guard duty in case you have forgotten,” he added with a smirk. 

“They really don’t expect you to sleep for days?” you demanded.That didn’t seem logical. Even supers needed sleep.And you weren’t _that_ vulnerable while you were grounded.

He shrugged. “Perhaps I will be able to take a nap later, if you can promise to keep out of trouble after your combat training this morning,” he told you with a smirk.

That got your back up.“Combat training?!” you demanded.You thought he had killed you quite enough yesterday.

“One day of training is not enough for you to be able to protect yourself,” he reminded you far too logically. He was enjoying your distress.“But we will work more gently today. It will not help to wear your body down.”

You didn’t have an argument for that.“Also, point of fact, I _am_ capable of keeping out of trouble,” you grumbled at him. Seriously, you weren’t a troublemaker.You were a teenager with no powers in a tower of superheros.There was only so much trouble you could get into.

“Sure you can, darling,” he laughed as you spluttered at him, puffing up grumpily. “Your uncle is here, if you would like to have breakfast with him,” he told you, changing the subject.“He was not pleased to find you sleeping on me last night, but I also reminded him that I am on twenty-four hour guard duty. He made the mistake of asking how I would guard you while you were using me as a pillow. I kindly demonstrated for him.” He had his Cheshire Cat grin so you knew he was up to something. 

“Oh no, what’d you do?” you asked, concerned that he might have hurt Tony.The two notoriously didn’t like each other. 

“I threw a dagger at him. Do not fear. He is unharmed, though I am surprised his yelling did not wake you. He did concede the point that I was capable of guarding you,” he gave you his mischievous grin again, making you smile in return.At least Tony wasn’t hurt.And had somehow let Loki stay in your room all night.The 24 hour guard duty had probably made Tony behave.

“I should go have breakfast with him,” you told Loki, who nodded and stood. You had to reassure Tony that you were alive and well.Loki offered you a hand and helped you to your feet. You stretched, desperately needing it from sleeping on the couch all night and then took Loki’s hand so you could walk down to breakfast together. You took your plate from Helene and sat down with Tony.

“Morning,” you greeted your sleepy uncle.

“Morning,” he grumbled. “Where’s your guard?” he growled. You gestured to the doorway where Loki was entering with his breakfast. He sat at a nearby table, not disturbing you. “I better not find out he’s shirking,” he growled, intent on hating Loki.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” you replied dryly. Tony looked up at you questioningly, but you shook your head. You _weren’t_ going to be explaining that if he hadn’t figured it out by now.He’d figure out you were dating Loki soon enough.

“I’m going to be gone until late. Anything you need before I head out?” he asked. You shook your head, used to him coming and going at all hours. 

“Is there any luck with The Harlequin?” You asked. Besides that she was a huge threat, you were grounded until she was dealt with. 

Tony shook his head with a heavy sigh.“Her minions were out in full force last night, though. I’ll be glad if I never see another clown again,” he groaned.

You shuddered.You hated clowns in the first place.Evil clowns were just worse.“I don’t blame you,”

“Just stay safe, Kat. I don’t want to have to worry about you while I’m out there fighting bad guys,” Tony told you, overprotective as always.

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t forget that I’m grounded. I can’t leave the compound,” you reminded him.You were perfectly safe in the tower’s walls.

“For which I’m grateful right now. The Harlequin is dangerous, and so are her clowns, for all that they’re just minions.”

He had to leave shortly afterwards to go finish paperwork or stuff in his lab or something for Pepper before heading out on patrol.

“Ready for lessons?” Loki purred in your ear after you had finished eating. You hadn’t even seen him move. You smiled up at him, unphased by his sudden appearance at your side.

“I’m not exactly dressed for it,” you reminded him as if that were going to get you out of the training.

“I can take care of that,” he whispered, his tone was firm. You weren’t going to be able to stall or hedge your way out of this.Stubborn god. 

You sighed realizing you might as well get it over with since he wasn’t going to relent on you learning to protect yourself.You weren’t going to be able to stall or hedge or squirm your way out of this one. You nodded and got to your feet with a heavy sigh and walked with him to the training room you had stolen the previous day.

Loki was much more careful with training that day and kept a better watch on your stamina. He wanted to help you, not kill you.You worked on dagger and staff work today. His logic was that there were plenty of everyday objects that could be a staff and it was useful to have some range against an opponent with powers.You still worked up a sweat and you were still exhausted well before the end, but not nearly as brain numbed or battle fevered as you had gotten the day before.

Loki walked you back upstairs after you had finished for the day. “Can you stay out of trouble for a couple of hours?” he asked.You could see that he was more tired than he had wanted to admit.“I would like to take that nap we discussed.”

You rolled your eyes.Tony kept saying that if you kept doing that they were going to fall out of your head.You pointed out that his hadn’t fallen out of his head yet and he shut up on the subject.“I’m going to get a shower and then do homework at that desk,” you pointed to the one in you sittingroom. “If it would make you feel better, you can take your nap on the couch.”

He nodded. “I will take you up on that. Try not to die while I take a shower,” he teased.

“I think I can manage that,” you replied with a grin. He leaned down and kissed you lightly. Kisses were new, but definitely something you could get used to. 

“Good, I would hate to have to find a new girlfriend. No one would compare.” He purred warmly, though he didn’t press further than simple kisses.You shooed him back to his own room, laughing, and hurriedly got a shower and changed into jeans and the hoodie that smelled like him. You sat at your desk on your comfy desk chair and worked on homework. Loki came back shortly and had sandwiches with you for lunch.

“Ooh, you trusted me not to die long enough to get us lunch,” You grinned at him, teasing. He handed you your sandwich with a laugh and sat on your couch while you both ate. 

“Are you sure you will be alright?” Loki asked when his sandwich was gone.His tone was all gentleness and concern. He didn’t want to leave you unguarded.

You smiled at him, trying to be reassuring. “Take your nap, Loki. I’m not leaving this room. I’ll wake you if something happens,” you promised him, in all seriousness. “I really do have homework to finish.” You turned back to your homework while he laid down on your couch.You couldn’t help sneaking glances over at him occasionally to make sure he was actually getting some rest.

The rest of the night went without issue. You got your homework done, survived while Loki took his nap, and he started to teach you how to play chess before it got too late and you needed to get to bed. He searched your bedroom for threats before he let you enter and he still insisted on sitting in the recliner next to your bed. You tried to insist that you were perfectly safe in your room with him guarding the only entrance.

“Twenty-four hour guard duty, love. You are stuck with my company.” He insisted.You sighed, but could tell that there was no arguing with him.Not when your safety, his honor, and duty were on the line.

“Will you at least read me a story then?” you asked him.If he was going to stay in your room, he might as well make himself useful. He smiled warmly and summoned a small ball of light above him. He opened the book of fairy tales on your nightstand and began to read. You fell asleep listening to his warm honeyed accented voice reading to you, soothing you to sleep with his words.


	13. Chapter 13

You groaned when your alarm started blaring the next morning. As you were fumbling for it to turn it off, you heard a chuckle coming from the chair beside your bed. You shot up in surprise at hearing another voice in your room, drawing the emergency repulsor that lived under your pillow automatically.It took a moment to relax, to realize that it was Loki, your boyfriend, guard, and babysitter.Loki chuckled as you deactivated the repulsor.You were just glad you hadn’t blasted him first and asked questions later.That’s what Tony would have had you do. You glared at him for laughing as you shut off your alarm. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to still be here,” you explained sheepishly as you stashed the repulsor back under your pillow where it belonged.

“Twenty-four hour guard, darling,” Loki reminded you with a chuckle as you sat up properly, your blanket pooling in your lap. “Let’s try this again,” he continued with a smirk. “Good morning, darling,” he greeted you overly pleasantly, a smirk on his face at the contrast of being greeted with a repulsor aimed at his face. “I surmise by the early hour that we are heading to your school today? It will be interesting to see a human school,” he mused.

“You’re coming to school with me?” you asked him incredulously as you climbed out of bed and stretched. You never had guards at school and you couldn’t imagine Loki actually coming there with you. 

Loki chuckled again.“Must I define ‘twenty-four hour guard’ for you again, my dear?” he teased.

“I didn’t think that extended to inside the actual school,” you admitted. “No one has ever followed me into the school building, just dropped me off at the door.” You wondered why security was upped so much for _this_ threat. There had been threats before, what made this one so special?

You turned to Loki again.He had risen from the chair he had spent the night in, probably to see what you were doing.“Twenty-four hour surveillance does not include watching me get dressed,” you informed him firmly.You weren’t negotiating on that one.You shoved him bodily out of your bedroom, into your sitting-room and shut the door firmly behind him.

He mock-protested at the treatment, but he was laughing the entire time, so you knew he didn’t mean it.“How am I to guard you, if I cannot see you?” he complained from the other side of the door in a mock-whine.

You heard his laughter and couldn’t help laughing too. This was a great way to start your Monday morning. “You’ll find a way,” you informed him through your giggles. You managed to brush your teeth, do your hair, and get dressed in record time. You didn’t want to see what the bored trickster would come up with to ‘guard’ you. You checked your tie in the mirror to make sure you had managed to tie the stupid thing correctly, double checked your hair to make sure it was pretending to behave for five minutes, and finally opened the door to the sitting-room to see Loki standing right on the other side, dressed in his battle armor. “See, I can survive ten minutes without you,” you informed him dryly.

“So it seems,” he replied warmly and offered you his hand. “Shall we?”

“I just need my-” you were going to say ‘school bag’, but you noticed that Loki was carrying it already. You reached for it, but he refused to hand it over. “Loki, I need that,” you protested, trying to reach past him to get it.

“Of course, darlin, that is why I am carrying it,” he replied, quite logically. You sighed and took his hand.

“You are a creature made entirely of silliness,” you informed him as you walked from your suite hand-in-hand.

He laughed, a big booming laugh usually more fit to his brother.“Mischief and chaos, love, not silliness,” he corrected.

“I’m not seeing much difference,” you replied and stuck your tongue out at him.

You were surprised to see Tony at your table when you entered the room with your plate of breakfast courtesy of Helen. Tony had been working so much lately that you felt like you barely saw him. You took your seat at the table with him, while Loki sat nearby. “Morning, Uncle Tony,” you greeted him as you slid into your seat. He gave you a sleepy greeting in return.You weren’t entirely sure it was English.Or a word. 

“I’m going to bed as soon as I finish eating. I probably won’t be here when you get back. We’re all running super long shifts right now without a whole lot of downtime. Your guard is taking you to school and will stay with you all day. It’s been arranged with the school. Don’t try to argue about this, Kat,” he wouldn’t have accepted the argument, so you didn’t even pretend.Besides, you felt bad for him with how exhausted he was.You weren’t going to make it worse by making him worry over you too.

“Fine,” you replied and actually meant it. It wasn’t worth the fight that you were perfectly safe in school. Besides, you guard was Loki and you enjoyed his company, which was a good thing as he was your boyfriend. 

“I promise, I’m getting you a car for your birthday.” It sounded like a nonsequitor, but you saw where the connection had been.You wouldn’t have to walk to school once he bought you the car. Besides, he’d been promising for months.

“That’s fine, I can walk. It’s not that far,” you reminded him. The school really wasn’t that far and you were perfectly capable of walking. You finished your breakfast quickly, though. You didn’t have time for a leisurely breakfast if you had to walk to school. “Get some sleep,” you bid him as you got up to take your plate back to Helene.

You went straight to the closet to put on your coat and shoes, knowing Loki would catch up with you before you could even think about leaving without him. You _did_ take your bag from him this time, despite his protests. “I carry this,” you told him firmly. “I’ll explain as we walk,” you added quickly before he could protest. He inclined his head and opened the door for you.He strolled next to you as began the walk to school. 

“You said you would explain,” he prompted when you didn’t immediately start talking.

“You can’t act like my boyfriend while you’re doing guard duty at the school,” you explained to him bluntly.Sometimes it was better to be blunt with Loki. He wasn’t from Earth and there were things he didn’t know and this time in particular it was better to make _sure_ he knew.“It’s one thing at the tower, it’s another out here. The school is letting you come as my guard. They will kick you out if they think we’re dating. I’m serious, Loki. I don’t want to have a different guard and the school will forcibly kick you off of guard duty if they even get a hint that this is more than a guard/guarded relationship.” You tried to impress upon him how serious you were being, how much this meant, how important this really was.You prayed he would understand. 

“I understand, Lady. I shall be on my best behavior,” he replied formally.You could tell from his formality that he would do as you said. 

“Thank you.” You walked side by side chatting about books and the small shops you passed on the way until you got about a block out from the school. You nodded to Loki, the signal that you had to be good.Loki took your meaning, shifting from boyfriend to guard in one fluid movement. It wasn’t even a movement, it was a shift in body language.He let you get a step ahead of him, so he was shadowing you, just off to your left, in perfect bodyguard position. You knew as much from training with the supers. You let him open the school door for you and check the entryway for threats before you followed him in. You knew how this whole guard thing worked, even if you’d never had to have one inside the school before. You headed to the office first, so Loki could get cleared with the school.

You gave a brilliant smile to the receptionist.You’d learned charm from your Uncle and you use it to your advantage, especially in situations like the one you found yourself in.“Thank you for allowing me to have a guard in school today. The Avengers, and Uncle Tony in particular, appreciate your flexibility,” you told the receptionist.You handed her the note Tony had given you explaining the full situation to the school.

“Of course dear, he just needs to sign in,” she indicated the sign-in sheet on the front counter. Loki picked up the pen there and wrote in the information carefully. You prayed she wouldn’t read it before you got out of the office. Luck was not with you that morning. “Loki Odinson?” she asked, disbelieving. Loki was claiming ‘Odinson’ as people knew Thor.“I need your real name,” she glared at him. He pulled out a wallet from somewhere you didn’t see and handed her his ID. She couldn’t find any flaw in it and reluctantly handed it back.“Thank you, Mr…Odinson.” She didn’t sound convinced, but at least you could leave the office.

You escaped as soon as was seemly.

“I should have worn the helmet,” Loki was still standing in his guard position as he walked behind you down the hall to your first class, but you still heard his voice as a whisper in your ear. Of course you had because of the magical god. 

“That would have been entertaining.” Loki didn’t always wear the horned helmet as part of his armor. It depended on how much danger he thought it was in if he felt he needed the extra protection. “Since when do you have a driver’s license?” you asked him, keeping your voice in a whisper through the conversation.You knew he’d hear you.

“Since a few weeks ago. Granted, it is magically created, but Lady Natasha and the others taught me to drive a car. They explained it would be a good idea if I had official human documents, so I created some.”

You nodded at his explanation and stopped by your locker on your way to class. You noticed that all of the girls were staring at your boyfriend, who was pretending not to notice. He was failing at his pretending. He _did_ notice when one of the boys took too much interest in your short plaid skirt.That was the downside of the uniform: teenage boys were immensely stupid.

“Don’t,” you told Loki firmly when you caught his glare and the tense of his shoulders that indicated he was going to do something stupid. Namely stabbing the idiot.“Leave the poor boy alone,”

“If you had heard his thoughts, you would not be stopping me,” Loki’s whisper was a hiss.That couldn’t be a good sign. 

“You can’t attack him for thinking inappropriate thoughts,” you explained calmly. The trick was to pretend to be calm so Loki would stay calm too.“He has to actually do something, which he won’t. Teenage boys are stupid, but that’s it. He’s not going to try anything,”

“If he touches you...”

“Then you can do something. C’mon I’m going to be late.” When calm didn’t work, distraction and redirection usually did.You turned from your locker and headed down the hall in the other direction from the idiot boy. He was the star quarterback, a senior who had a full-ride scholarship to some university next year. He was the pride of the school. Not that you cared, you hadn’t even bothered to learn his name. You just knew him on sight and avoided him whenever you could. You had the feeling that you were the only girl left in the school he hadn’t had as a conquest, and that wasn’t going to change. Ever.

Loki checked out the classroom before he would let you walk in, which was completely unnecessary, but his job. You took a seat in the back corner of the classroom where Loki could stand near your desk out of the way, and hopefully out of the attention of the class. That was an unrealistic expectation on your part as he was still extremely noticeable and all the girls, and quite a few of the guys, kept sneaking glances at him when they though the teacher wasn’t looking. It didn’t help that the teacher had made an announcement at the beginning of class pointing out who he was and why was there. You kept my head down and pretended you didn’t notice, trying to focus on my classwork.

A note appeared on your desk halfway through class. <Why are you studying Latin?> the note was written in Loki’s elegant, masculine script.You recognized it from the other notes he’d left you.

<It’s mandatory> you wrote back on the same slip of paper.Loki’s words had vanished after you read them.

<Why?> Pesky, bored, trickster bodyguard. At least the note also contained the translation for the next line of text you were translating, which was helpful when you were called on unprepared.

<It’s good for vocabulary and the SATs>

<What are the SATs?>

<A stupid test we have to take to get into college, where I have to go to learn to be a doctor,> you wrote out the whole explanation so he wouldn’t ask more pesky questions. You were supposed to be paying attention.A doodle appeared on the slip of paper of him ripping the boy from earlier in half.It was detailed enough that you could recognize the boy.Though he had x’s for eyes and it was such a silly doodle that you had to stifle a laugh. <You promised to behave> you reminded him.He was failing at behaving.

<Your uncle said your birthday is coming up. When?>

<Behave and I’ll tell you after class> you scribbled back. Your stupid Latin class was an AP level class and you needed to pay attention, though you shouldn’t have bothered trying, even the teacher was distracted by Loki’s presence. It was going to be _such_ a long day.

Loki at least behaved for the rest of that class and you left as soon as you could to head to your next class. You clutched your books to your chest, embarrassed by the attention your bodyguard drew in the hallway.

“Stand up straight, love, do not hide from their attention. Embrace it. They are just jealous, after all,” you heard Loki’s whisper in your ear, though you swore his mouth didn’t move. Plus, he was walking behind you looking hot as hell, and intimidating as hell. You sighed, but he wouldn’t leave you alone until you did as he asked. Overprotective boyfriend.You stood up straighter, like you had to for formal events with the Avengers, or with Uncle Tony and his company.You tried to ignore the attention you and Loki were getting. You _did_ noticed the stupid football quarterback checking me out again as you walked past him in the hall. “Are you sure I cannot kill him for thinking such inappropriate things?”

“I’m sure, Loki, we don’t just kill people,” you reminded him. This was going to be a long day indeed if you kept having to remind Loki not to kill the teenage boys.Loki’s tone had been joking, but you weren’t entirely convinced he wouldn’t kill someone for a perceived threat to you.That was the danger of having Loki as a bodyguard.Or was it the danger of having your boyfriend as a bodyguard?

“So, when _is_ your birthday?” he finally asked.

“Next week Saturday,” you replied. You didn’t have a reason to hide it from him, but you generally didn’t go advertising it either.Loki nodded, taking your words into consideration.You wondered what he was going to do with that information.

Somehow you made it through your morning classes and all the way to lunch. You took your normal table with Loki standing against the nearest wall, within guarding distance, but not obtrusive. You looked up, surprised, when some of the most popular girls in the school sat down at your table without even asking. You felt Loki shift his stance at your surprised expression. You shook your head, almost imperceptibly, but you knew he would have caught it.

“So... who’s the bodyguard?” The alpha cheerleader asked without even pretending small talk, or pretending you were friends.

“That’s Loki. He’s guarding me today. There’s been enough trouble with The Harlequin that the Avengers thought I needed extra protection until it’s taken care of,” you told the group of girls.Maybe the truth would make them go away faster.

“He’s super hot,” they told you in a stage whisper. Even if Loki hadn’t been eavesdropping he could have heard them. You shrugged. You weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing you agree with her. Plus, you’d seen him without a shirt and they hadn’t, so they didn’t even know what they were talking about.

“Does _no one_ interest you?” one of the other girls asked, before getting elbowed in the ribs by the alpha cheerleader.

“Is he single?”

You shook your head, suddenly possessive.You weren’t going to let these bitches stake a claim on _your_ boyfriend.“Nope, he’s taken. That’s why he’s here with me. He was one of the Avengers who wouldn’t get distracted,” you told them.

They didn’t seem overly concerned.That wasn’t a good thing. 

“That can be changed...” the alpha mused. “What’s she like?”

“I’m not sure. Besides, I think ‘she’ might be a ‘he’,”

The girls all whined at that one. “Why are all of the hot ones gay?” the girl who got elbowed whined loudly and all the girls but the alpha stormed off.

“I saved you from as many as I could,” you whispered after the alpha had gotten up to go bother Loki.

“By insinuating I am gay...” his voice whispered in your ear. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“Not at all, but they weren’t going to give up,” you replied. You heard him making very disinterested small talk with alpha cheerleader, but somehow in such an awfully British, excessively polite way that she couldn’t be upset, got her to go away and leave him alone to do his job.

You finished your lunch, got up, and handed the extra sandwich you had purchased to Loki. He looked surprised, well and truly shocked by your actions. He hadn’t been surprised you had gotten an extra sandwich. Supers had higher metabolisms, and he must’ve thought you did too, or just didn’t question the amount of food. “You didn’t get a lunch,” you told him. You had noticed he refused to pick one up when you went through the line even though you had told him to.You didn’t want him going hungry.

“I am on duty,” he replied, trying to hand the sandwich back.

You had this planned out too. You didn’t take the sandwich. Instead, you pointed to the restroom at the back of the cafeteria. “I’m going in there, where you can’t follow. I’ve seen you supers eat, you can have that devoured by the time I come back.” He didn’t argue with that logic, but looked pleased, or maybe impressed, that you had thought enough of him to take care of him too. You weren’t a super, but you could at least be a decent human.

“Thank you,” was all he said in reply, but you heard the sincerity, and the vulnerability, and... hope in his voice. It made you wonder if anyone had _ever_ been kind to him for him to be so bruised. He still walked you to the restroom, but stayed outside while you went in.

He followed you from the cafeteria after that, throwing away the sandwich wrapper on your way out so you wouldn’t think he had just thrown the sandwich away out of honor or some such silliness. “You’ll like my next class,” you told him while you were at your locker switching out your morning things for your afternoon things.

“And what class is that?” he asked, curious.

“You’ll see,” you told him with a grin. You led him up to the top floor of the school, right in the middle. You entered the large double doors of the huge room there and entered the school’s giant library. You heard Loki’s gasp, and saw his momentary lapse in proper bodyguard behavior. You smiled as you watched him take in the sight of the giant room full of books. “I have a free period this period, so I work in the library. It’s better than sitting in study hall. Most of the time I just sit at the desk doing homework, but today...” you headed over to the book return cart. You usually got one of the freshmen to do the book returns, but decided to do them today, so Loki could trail behind me, investigating all of the books. After you put all of the books away, you took your spot behind the counter and got to work on my homework while Loki stood behind you looking intimidating. You had to promise some of the freshmen that they could check out books without your bodyguard doing anything more mean to them than silently judge them based on their book choices. That got you laughs from the freshmen and they went along their way.

“Try to behave next class. I have a math test,” you told Loki as you walked to your next class.

“You’re no fun today,” he complained, his magical whisper voice now felt like his lips were touching your ear as he spoke, sending a shiver down your spine. Annoying bored trickster boyfriend.You heard him laugh, but at least that phantom sensation wasn’t back.

“I never said school would be fun,” you reminded him dryly. “I believe I complained, in fact, that it was school and boring.”

The next class was boring for him, but hectic for you. You hated math and math test day was even more awful. Part of the way through the exam all of the answers and the work that went along with them appeared as an illusion on top of your paper. You glared at the page.

<Loki, I can’t cheat> you wrote in pencil on a slip of paper, and quickly erased it before the teacher saw. You knew Loki would have seen.

<Fine> The illusion disappeared from your test paper for a moment before it reappeared. <One of the problems is wrong. You will have to do all of them to figure out which one>

You mumbled something unflattering about annoying tricksters, but you did all of the problems and showed all of the work. In the end, you realized that all of the answers he had provided had been correct. You checked them all over again, but came to the same conclusion.

“They were all right,” you growled at him the second class was over and you were safely in the hall. You heard his laugh, though you were sure no one else heard anything from the stoic-looking guard.

You somehow survived the rest of the day and you had the feeling you were both equally relieved when you could leave the school and head back to the tower. Once we were safely a block or so from campus and away from prying eyes, Loki took the step to catch up to you and stole your bag from your shoulder. “Loki!” you protested, but he just laughed and took your hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed your knuckles.

“I missed being able to actually spend time with you,” he told you gently. 

“I missed that too.”You had gotten used to his company after the last couple of days of twenty-four hour guard duty.

“I was glad to be able to make sure you were safe.” He leaned down to give you a kiss. You stood up on your toes to meet him halfway. You enjoyed the feel of his cool lips on mine, though you did have to break the kiss to make it the rest of the way back to the tower.

Most regrettable indeed.

But Loki wouldn’t risk you getting more grounded for a few kisses outside.


	14. Chapter 14

_You found yourself surrounded by flames and the laughter of the villains who surrounded your house.You could smell the smoke, feel the heat. Your bedroom was on the third floor of the mansion and you were going to die up here.No, you wouldn’t, couldn’t, die, afraid in your own room. You had to get out of here.Now._

_You left your bedroom and instantly gagged from the smoke, coughing and choking as you tried to breathe.You fell to your knees, your subconscious remembering that the smoke rose so clean air was at the floor. You tried desperately to find the stairs so you could escape the house. You’d grown up in this house.It shouldn’t be that difficult, even with the smoke, even crawling, even coughing from the smoke._

_You didn’t realize you were cut off until it was too late to get back to your room, to get back to any of the windows. The only way out was to get downstairs. You felt the heat increasing, felt the flames licking at your skin._

_You had to go through them._

_There was no other way._

_You somehow made it to the first floor, somehow made it to the collapsing entryway, only to find your parents tied to chairs in your entry hall. They were already dead, both were shot in the head. You screamed for them, momentarily forgetting your need to escape from the fire around you. “No!!!” you screamed again. One of the beams collapsed, trapping you beneath its burning weight._

“Love, wake up. It is a nightmare. Kat, please wake up!” You were startled from the nightmare by cold hand shaking you, cool arms pulling you to an equally cool body. The coolness of the person was in such contrast to the memories of the fire that you stopped struggling and screaming when you were shaken from the nightmare. You opened your eyes and looked up at Loki, whose lap you found yourself in. He held you while you clutched on to him, sobbing from the memories of that night. “Shh, love, it was just a nightmare, darling.” After a few minutes of him holding you, rocking you, soothing you, your sobs finally eased. You sniffled and he handed you a handkerchief, though you didn’t see where he’d gotten it.

“Always the gentleman,” you commented softly, your voice still hoarse from screaming and crying. You dried your eyes with his handkerchief.

“Will you tell me what the dream was about?” he asked you softly, gently, though he wasn’t pressuring you to answer.

You nodded, but had to ask:“Can we go make some tea first?”You wanted to get out of this room, and tea was soothing. Loki stood, with you still in his arms. You made a surprised noise before he teleported you downstairs to where the kitchen was. You watched from the safety of his arms as the kettle flew to the sink to get water, then to the stove to heat.

You were amazed that he was using magic to make your tea so he didn’t have to put you down.You didn’t even protest. You knew somehow that he wouldn’t think less of you for still having nightmares, unlike the other supers around you. 

Soon the tea was ready. The tea poured itself into two mugs and followed you to the common room. Loki sat in one of the reclining chairs, holding you safely in his lap. Your tea floated into your hands and you sat in silence, sipping on your tea grateful that he wasn’t pressing you for answers.

“It was the same nightmare I always have,” you finally started to tell him, not looking up from your cup of tea. You hadn’t told anyone that you still dreamt of that night, and it was hard for you to tell him now. So you spoke to the cup of tea. “It’s the night my parents’ died. Villains wanted to steal their money. They refused and the villains shot and killed them. I was upstairs asleep. I didn’t even hear the gunshots. Then they set our house on fire. The entire house was in flames before I woke. The smoke detectors didn’t work properly or malfunctioned, or something. I nearly died that night trying to get out of the house. I found my parents dead on the first floor of the house while I was making my escape. It was a miracle that Uncle Tony got to the house when he did and heard my screams. I was unconscious and badly burned when he finally got to me. I spent months in the hospital and with super healers afterwards. There’s no proof at the damage, except for one scar they couldn’t heal,” you stopped rambling and looked up at him to see his reaction to your past.

“I am so sorry, love,” was his only reply. You saw honest sadness in his eyes, not pity, not snubbing you for being a weak human. None of that. “And I am more sorry that you have to relive that experience in nightmares,”

“You don’t think less of me for it?” you asked in a small, scared voice.You didn’t want to lose Loki just because he found out you had a nightmare, that you still had nightmares of the fire.

“Never, darling. I have my share of nightmares too,” he whispered, admitting his own secrets. He held you for awhile longer and let you finish your tea. “Are you ready to go back to bed?” he asked gently. You nodded and moved to stand, but he was standing with you in his arms before you could climb off of his lap.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking. I’m not weak just for having a nightmare,” you told him firmly.You wouldn’t have him treating you like some frail incapable creature just for having a nightmare.

“I am aware you are capable. I do not see you as weak, darling, but you possess a strength far above any I have ever known for reliving that horror night after night. I cannot save you in a nightmare. That is outside of my powers, I’m afraid, but I can take care of you after, and remind you that you are safe.” You realized then how helpless he’d felt, listening to your screaming until he could get you to wake. Taking care of you now was just as much for his sake as it was for yours. You laid your head on his shoulder and let him teleport you back upstairs. He set you on your bed and tucked you back in. He crawled on the bed, staying on top of the covers and opened his arms to you. You laid your head on his cool chest, listening to his heartbeat, and to his honeyed voice as he recited tales to you until you eventually fell back asleep. His presence kept the nightmares at bay the rest of the night, despite his words that it was outside of his powers.

You don’t know how you made it through classes the next day; you wereso exhausted from your lack of sleep. The previous night’s nightmare had been worse than most and you were dead on your feet because of it. It was lucky that Loki was guarding you, since you wouldn’t have been able to protect yourself. You did notice that the girls were being more openly flirty with him. Even a couple of the gay guys tested their luck.

“You just had to tell them I was gay,” Loki whispered in your ear at lunch with magic just like the previous day. That earned him a small laugh.

You passed your math test with a perfect score, which you thanked Loki for after class, though he insisted you would have gotten that score without his interference. Loki took Tony’s car keys from you when you left the school and insisted that he was driving you home. Tony had let you borrow his car that morning. You didn’t protest. You should have protested when he let you out of combat training or when you found that all of your homework was miraculously done so you could take a nap, but you didn’t protest on either of those things either. You needed the rest that day.

You were feeling better after your nap. You woke Loki up for dinner after you’d woken. He had passed out while you napped together. Even supers needed some sleep. “It’s dinnertime, sleepyhead,” you told him with a smile. He smiled back at you, seeming relieved.

“I am glad you are feeling better, love. I was beginning to worry after your melancholy today,” he said as he got out of bed.

“I am. Thank you, for everything.” You stood up on your toes to kiss him gently. You took his hand and you went downstairs for dinner together.

“Kat! We’re watching Superhero Musical after dinner. You two should join us,” one of a group of younger supers called from the common room.

“We will!” you replied. You got your dinner from Helene and Loki followed behind you.

“What, pray tell, is Superhero Musical?” he asked dryly, wanting to know what you had just signed him up to participate in. You laughed in reply.

“It’s just our favorite movie. It’s a musical about superheroes,”

“So I gathered by the name...” he commented, his voice still dry and sarcastic.

“You’ll understand when we watch it,” you reassured him.He sighed, looking put-upon. You knew it was a ruse.

You went to the other TV in the common room where the younger supers were all gathered. There were a couple of pillows on the floor next to the couch saved for you. You curled up there with Loki at your back. “This part is not bad,” his whispered in your ear as he got to legitimately hold you close to him. Once everyone was there, the last person to the room started the movie. Within five minutes, you were all singing along. You looked at Loki to see him shocked and confused. “How did I end up in one of your Disney movies?” he asked, loudly enough for you to hear him, but not for the others to. “How does everyone know this song?” he asked later, making you laugh. He was even more shocked at the duet song when the guys took the male protagonist’s part and the girls took the female’s without error and without any prompting.

“I told you this was our favorite movie,” you reminded him afterwards, while he was still reeling and laughing at the group for knowing every line of dialogue and every line and note of the songs.

“I still think I was transported into one of your Disney movies,” he protested. You stayed with the group that night, talking until it was time for everyone to go to bed, and Loki didn’t even seem to mind. He actually seemed much more comfortable with them than with the older supers.You remembered that he had said that by lifecycle equivalencies, even though he was over a thousand years old, it was only the equivalent of around 18 Midgardian years.

No wonder he got along so much better with the younger group.

 


	15. Chapter 15

“Wake up, love,” Loki shook you awake. You opened your eyes blearily. It seemed way too early; your alarm hadn’t even gone off. When you glanced at said alarm, you saw that it was 2am. You groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep and hopefully ignore the annoying trickster who thought 2am was an acceptable time to be awake. “Darling, come on, wake up,” he shook you again and ripped your blanket off of you.

Rude.

“Loki, what on Earth could possibly be important enough to wake up for at 2am?” you demanded grumpily.You weren’t a morning person, especially at 2am.

“Nothing, so get up,” he replied too jovially. 

“Loki!” you threw one of you stuffed animals at him in aggravation.It was bad enough that he camped out in your bedroom to protect you. 

He laughed and dodged the stuffed animal.“If you do not get up on your own, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you there. I am not letting you miss this,” he threatened. You rolled back over to face him.

“Would not,” you grumbled, quite grumpy at being woken at 2am, and more grumpy at being _kept_ awake at 2am. “I need sleep, Loki,” you whined.He reached down for you like he really was going to throw you over his shoulder. “Fine, fine, I’m up!” You sat up and let him haul you to your feet. He wrapped a robe around you and summoned slippers with fluffy insides for you. “This better be worth it,” you told him as you let him steer you from your suite.

“It will be, I promise,” he told you softly. He led you to the stairway, and steered you upstairs. You went with him on autopilot, half asleep due to the hour.You hesitated when you got to the door outside, there was nothing up on the roof. He tugged you along after him anyway.

In the middle of the roof, a picnic style blanket with pillows and blankets on it had been set up. He grinned at your sleepy confused expression. “Come along, darling,” he bid you and led you to the blanket. He laid down on his back and pulled you down to join him, also on your back laying against him, using his arm as a pillow. He pulled the blankets up around you, for your benefit as you were the one who would get cold.

“What’s going on?” you asked him, cuddling up with him.

“Just wait,” he purred in your ear.

A minute later a beautiful meteor shower erupted in the sky. It was beyond words how gorgeous it was. You watched the meteors stream across the sky.You gasped and stared in awe up at the sky as you watched together.

Loki chuckled. “I told you it would be worth it,” he whispered in your ear.

“You were right,” you told him, enjoying the sight.

“And nothing on Earth,” he added with a chuckle.He was proud of himself for his sneaky words. 

You looked over at him then, too curious for your own good. “So why _did_ you come to Earth?” you asked. You knew he wasn’t from this world, but he hadn’t told you exactly why he had come back yet. You were pleased he had, but you were still curious.

He hesitated a moment, before he finally answered.“My brother and I were...banished for lack of a better word, after Thor’s banishment, after he returned to be the heir to the throne.I didn’t really fall from the bifrost, that was made up for the movie.It is a tradition among the royal family. Only the heir stays at the palace, any other sons must go make their own way in the world, a quest of sorts. Once Thor was married and had an heir of his own, Balder and I were sent to find our own way. The eldest is not always chosen to be heir, it is supposed to be the child most worthy, and Odin chose Thor for that honor. 

Anyway, Balder had said that he found a world where we could be kings, where we could have the birthright and the rule he so desperately craved. I agreed to go with him, thinking it a primitive world, that we were to set up a colony there.It would’ve been a valid quest, one worthy of honor had we succeeded. Instead, we came across Thanos and his army.Thanos tortured us, though Balder less than I, as he agreed to work for the mad titan willingly.We were eventually sent to Earth, and you know how that went. Once I broke free of Thanos’ mind control, of course I switched sides, but damage had already been done to your people,” you heard the sincerity and regret in his voice and knew that he really hadn’t meant to be on the wrong side. He had been tricked, which was pretty impressive. “Balder escaped and has also gotten quite skilled at hiding from my ability to see the future. My skills there are not great, and I only get glimpses of what is to come, but I have seen nothing of what he will do, not for many months now. I returned to Earth to make amends,”

“I’m sorry you were banished,” you told him softly, “I’m sorrier that you were tortured and made to attack Earth against your will. I know mere words aren’t enough for the pain you went through, though I’m glad that we were able to meet because of it.”

Loki smiled over at you and pressed a kiss to your hair. “How did I find someone so very perfect?” he asked as he leaned over to kiss you, just as the meteor shower was ending. You didn’t know how to answer that, so you just kissed him back.

“Why aren’t you cold?” You asked him when the kiss broke. There was snow flurrying around you both and you’d be shivering if you weren’t so well bundled.

He was laughing when he replied: “I’m quite surprised my idiot brother hasn’t been telling tales, especially with the movie being what it is,” Loki paused and considered the right words. “The movie was correct, my biological parents, at least my father for sure, were frost giants… so the cold does not bother me. Plus, I can do this,” he summoned a rose made of ice in his palm. You saw that he was using the trick with ice to hide his fear of rejection.

You hadn’t seen his Jotun form, not yet, but you wouldn’t press him for it.“It’s beautiful,” you breathed about the rose instead.“And my feelings for you won’t change whether you’re Asgardian, Jotun, human, or none of the above. I care for _you_ Loki, not your heritage,” you told him firmly, though you were starting to shiver against him in the cold.

He stood and pulled you to your feet.“It is time to get you inside before you freeze,” he told you as he wrapped an arm around you and you walked back inside together. There was a kettle of tea waiting for you on your coffee table when you made it back to your room.

You smiled up at him, gratefully.“You’re so thoughtful,” you told him warmly as you poured you both tea. You gladly held yours as you sipped on it to warm back up from being outside in the cold too long. It had definitely been worth it, though, to see the meteor shower and spend time with Loki.

You _did_ finally make it back to bed after the tea for a couple more hours of sleep before you had to get up for school.Stupid meteor shower being on a school night.Was it bad that you half-hoped that Loki would do all your school work so you didn’t have to pay attention?

Your alarm blared too soon and you shoved Loki from the room so you could get dressed. “I cannot guard you out here!” He protested again, laughing and teasing.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” you replied again, laughing at the comfortable familiarity. Suddenly there was an illusion of him in your room. You put your hands on your hips. “No,” you told him firmly. You pointed at the door. “Out.” He roared in laughter, but did as you bid and the illusion vanished. It had just been a joke, so you were laughing too. You knew he wouldn’t have actually betrayed your trust like that. It was too precious of a commodity to him for that. You _did_ get dressed quickly, though, so he wouldn’t feel like he was shirking for too long.

Loki was holding your school bag again when you left your bedroom. You didn’t bother trying to take it from him. That wouldn’t happen until you were much closer to the school. “You look lovely, darling,” he told you when you joined him in the sitting room.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m wearing a stupid school uniform. It is inherently ugly and unflattering.” Really, the uniforms weren’t that bad, but you still wouldn’t feel ‘lovely’ in it.

“Not the clothes, love, you.” You felt heat rise to your cheeks when he said that. He chuckled and took your hand so you could get some breakfast before school. Tony was already at your table when you arrived.

“Morning,” you told him as you took your usual spot.

“Morning,” he replied. Loki took a seat nearby. “You’re off 24 hour guard after today, unless something happens,” Tony told Loki, who nodded and somehow pulled off a look that it didn’t matter to him one way or the other. “I need my car today. Sorry Kat. You’re off being grounded on Friday. We’ll go get your car on Friday after school, ok?” he asked, by way of apology.

“That’s fine, Uncle Tony. No rush. The only place I go is school and I can walk there,” you reminded him. You talked with him about the hunt for The Harlequin during breakfast, but there wasn’t much news. She and her people had all been quiet since the Avengers upped their security. You enjoyed your peaceful breakfast and both had to leave at the same time, him to work and you to school. Loki, of course, came with you.

“So, your uncle is getting you a car for your birthday?” Loki asked as you walked to the school.

You nodded.“It’s an expensive gift, but he can afford it. I also think he’s finally getting the hint that I need some freedom, so I think it’s also an apology that he’s been so...smothering about protecting me,”

“Is there anything you would like for your birthday?” he asked.

You shook your head firmly.You didn’t do the asking for presents thing.You didn’t expect anything and anything you wanted, Tony would buy for you.“No, nothing that I need,” you were purposely not answering the question he was asking. You weren’t going to ask him for anything, or expect him to even get you anything. You weren’t even sure he was being paid yet.You didn’t exactly pay attention to how payroll worked for the supers who lived in the tower. 

“Darling, that is not what I asked,” he replied dryly.

You had known you couldn’t be able to get that answer past him, but you’d had to try anyway. “I’m aware of that. I don’t expect you to get me anything, and I’m not going to ask you for anything or hint for anything. I wouldn’t have even mentioned my birthday if Uncle Tony wasn’t making such a big deal. I think he’s even having a party for it… He really feels bad he hasn’t been around much lately,” you babbled, hoping to get him off of the subject of what to get you. He gave you a look, but didn’t argue anymore. He was going to get you something; you knew that, but it was out of your hands now.You hadn’t asked for anything, so your conscious was appeased. 

Loki handed you your bag when you got too close to the school and gave you a kiss before he went into guard mode. You wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him more deeply than his chaste kiss had been. You wanted to stall having to go to school, and only having him as a guard and not as a boyfriend.

“I will be with you all day, love,” he reminded you gently when he stepped back, breaking the kiss. “You do not need to act like we are being separated forever,”

You nodded.“I know, it’s just hard to have you there, but not really there. It’s almost like an illusion,” you tried to explain the feeling, but you were sure you weren’t making sense.

“I will be there with you all day, now stand tall and enjoy your last day of making all of your classmates jealous with my presence.” That got a laugh out of you. He gestured for you to lead.

You took a breath, straightened your spine and used the patented murder strut to stride into theschool as though you owned the place. It was amazing to see the reactions of the rest of the students, who finally noticed you, as though you might be important because you had a bodyguard. “You’ve gotten them all jealous,” he whispered in you ear with magic.

“So you can really read minds?” you asked him in reply.

“Of course,” he replied as if it were obvious.You filed that piece of information away for future use. “Do not fear, I only read surface thoughts, especially when it is an entire crowd like this. It is beyond rude to pry without invitation. I would not even be reading their surface thoughts were I not on guard duty. A surface thought could tell me in advance if someone is going to attempt to attack you,”

Loki had to sign in again at the office. At least the office lady was used to his presence and didn’t bother him about his name again.

He also continued to send you notes throughout your classes that day, which kept you in good spirits.

“Kat?” the stupid jock quarterback stopped you when you entered the cafeteria. You heard a whispered growl in your ear from Loki. You couldn’t tell if he was just jealous, or really wanting to kill the jock. You were wary regardless.

“Yes?” you asked the jock in reply. You still didn’t even know his name. You really ought to learn it at some point. You turned to face him politely, unsure how to get out of the situation quickly. Loki was standing just behind you, closer than he’d been since you had kissed before school.

“Does he have to be so close?” Jock boy asked. You gave Loki a look. He took a few steps back to give the illusion of privacy, but you knew it was just an illusion. You also felt the weight change as one of the mini daggers you and Loki had been practicing with appeared in your school blazer pocket.

“If he does anything, you’re welcome to stab him,” Loki whispered magically in your ear. You knew his mouth didn’t move while he was doing that particular trick, since you could see him this time. You also knew you weren’t going to stab the boy.

“We’re playing a game Friday night,” Jock boy told you without preamble. You nodded’ all of the football jocks were talking about nothing but the stupid game. You couldn’t care any less about it. “You should come. You can be my date. I’ll get you a seat right on the sideline and everything,” he said brightly as if that were some massively generous offer.

“That’s a...generous... offer, but I can’t. I already have plans,” you told him, grateful you _did_ already have plans and you weren’t lying to him. You knew better than to outright tell him ‘no’. He had the slimy feel about him that felt like he wouldn’t take that word well.You also had the feeling he’d be able to tell if you were lying.

“What plans?” he demanded.

“My uncle is taking me out for my birthday,” you replied evenly. “He knows he has Friday night off, but he’s not sure he can get off next Saturday.” Ok, that part was a lie, but a plausible one. Tony was going to have your birthday off no matter what it took. Jock boy didn’t look convinced. “Besides, I have a boyfriend,” you threw in the last barb. Jock boys tended not to be able to accept the word ‘no’, but they could accept that another male had a claim. You were using that to my advantage here. Plus it was true. Plus your boyfriend was standing right behind you.

“You have a boyfriend?” he sneered. You felt the danger in his tone and knew you needed to get away from him before this escalated.

“Yes. I do,” you told him coldly. “Thank you for your offer, though.”

“Bitch, you’ll regret turning me down,” he snarled.

Before he could say or do anything else, Loki swept in, coming between you and the jock boy. Jock boy turned on his heel and stormed from the cafeteria. You turned once you were safely out of the jerk’s reach, and headed to the food line, with Loki falling into step behind you. “He’s not following, is he?” you whispered, knowing Loki would catch the words, and catch the hint of fear in your tone even though your whisper was barely audible. He stepped closer and put a hand on the small of your back.

“He is not following. You are safe,” he reassured you. Heads turned at hearing him speak. He rarely had while on guard duty. “Shall I kill him for scaring you?” Those words were back to his magical whisper.

You shook your head. “Thank you for the offer,”

“It is my duty to keep you safe,” he reminded you, loudly enough to be heard by the other students. You saw the swoon-y expressions on the cheerleaders’ faces at both his words and his accent. You made it through the line and you got your lunch, and your extra sandwich for Loki.You made your way to your usual table, glad that you had a bodyguard for once. “You are still scared,” came the magical whisper in you ear. Loki was still concerned and homicidal.

“I’ll be ok,” you promised him. “No reason to kill the jerk.”You kept an eye on the jock-boy. He had returned to the cafeteria and was sitting with his cronies on the other side of the cafeteria.

“He scared you,” Loki protested. “And he is trying to claim what is mine,” you heard the snarl in those words. You gave him a firm look. You hadn’t realized he had this possessive overprotective side. You would have to be careful of it andhoped it was just because some asshole had been mean to you. If he was this possessive all the time you were going to have a problem. You didn’t think it would be an issue, though.

“Loki...” You said the word in a warning tone.

He huffed. “Fine, I will not kill him just for words,” he promised. You could relax then.

You heard the whispers around the cafeteria. Jock boy was already spreading that you had turned him down and had made up a story about having a boyfriend. You sighed. This wasn’t what you needed.

Once you had finished eating, Loki came over to you and held a hand out to you, palm up. “Come, lady,” he said gently with a familiar glint of mischief in his eyes. You placed your hand in his and let him pull you to your feet, wondering what he was up to this time. You saw a slight green glow around the room and realized that all of the teachers and faculty had left the room at the same time. “This story will not get to the school officials who could refuse to let me do guard duty, but your classmates...I am tired of them looking at you like a piece of meat,” Loki explained, though that wasn’t really an explanation.You let him lead you to the middle of the cafeteria, wondering what he was up to. Sneaky Trickster. You were standing almost next to jock boy’s table where he was sitting with alpha cheerleader and her friends. You prayed he wasn’t going to do something stupid.

He did something stupid.

He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. All eyes were on you immediately. He leaned down and kissed you deeply, demonstrating to all of the students in the cafeteria that you were not lying about having a boyfriend. Or about Loki being taken.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Somehow, you knew that no one disbelieved the act, or thought it was a stunt to quiet the whispers and rumors about you. This story was better than jock boy’s lies. Loki broke the kiss. “I told you I have a boyfriend,” you told jock boy when the crowd had quieted. “And that he’s taken,” you added to alpha cheerleader, who both glared at you.

I laughed at their expressions and left the cafeteria with Loki following behind you, back to looking the part of the perfect stoic guard. The students knew differently, but you knew that Loki’s word was good and no word of what had happened would get to anyone who could stop him from being here to do guard duty.


	16. Chapter 16

Whispers followed you throughout the rest of the school day. You tried to convince yourself that you didn't mind. It only worked so well. Mostly, the whispers were people commenting about how awesome that kiss was. You couldn’t say you disagreed with them on that point; it had been an amazing kiss. Only jock-boy and his friends had anything negative to say, and they quickly gave up when they realized no one was listening to them.

After school, Loki walked you home, carrying your bag the entire way. He threatened to carry you along with it when you stopped too long to look in one of the shop windows. "Just a quick look!" You pleaded, staring longingly in the new release window of the bookstore.You couldn’t help your love of books.They’d been your only friends for so long. 

Loki shook his head.“My apologies, darling, but you are still grounded, remember?" he asked you gently.Of course you remembered. You sighed and grumbled, but kept walking. "I would normally not care and risk a little mischief and fun, but Fury has made it quite clear that he will lock you up if you do anything else to anger him. And there would be nothing I could do about it." Loki reminded you. He was taking your freedom seriously, especially when you had put it in danger by rescuing him.

"At least it's just one more day," you grumbled. You didn't want to end up in chains or whatever other punishment Fury thought appropriate if you pissed him off again before your grounding ended.

"And I have plans for your first Saturday of freedom," Loki told me. You looked over at him with a mix of shock and excitement.

"You do?" you asked, curious. He chuckled.

"Of course, I do. So you must behave until then, so my plans do not get spoiled." You grinned and took his hand. He was going to surprise you.That was definitely something to look forward to, knowing Loki, the surprise would be a lot of fun.

You had combat practice when you got back to the compound. You were still focusing on the mini daggers, as Loki felt they were practical for a surprise first attack. Plus, they were immensely easy to conceal.

Loki helped you with your homework and you curled up on the common room couch, chatting occasionally with the supers who came and went while you did. You were glad that they seemed to finally be accepting Loki.

Fury came by at one point to tell Loki that he was off of twenty-four hour guard duty and didn’t have to go to school with you in the morning. He accepted it, but you could see the disappointment in his eyes. The next day would be lonely without him and you both knew it.

He walked you up to your room when it was time for bed and kissed you goodnight outside of your sitting room. You were surprised that he wasn't coming in. He had been so much your shadow for the last few days that you had forgotten that wasn't how things usually were. You knew it was one thing for him to spend the night in your suite when he was on guard duty. It was another thing when he was not. You knew the difference, but it still felt weird. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to spend the night when he wasn't guarding. You both knew that. It was still hard, when you also both knew that nothing inappropriate would happen. "Sleep well, darling," he bid you warmly before he left you.

"Goodnight," you replied and slipped into your room. You left your sitting room door unlocked. He was welcome to come get more books. You knew, however, that this night he wouldn't, but he would also appreciate that you hadn't locked him out.

There was an ice rose on your nightstand when you entered your bedroom. You smiled at it and sent Loki a thank you text. You would have to find something cute like that you could do for him at some point.

You had your chance the next morning. Once you were dressed, you knocked on Loki's door and weren’t surprised when there was no answer. Or that the door was unlocked. No one in the tower ever locked their doors. You slipped inside and left your gift for him on his bed where he wouldn't miss it later. You ducked back out quickly and headed downstairs to breakfast.

"Kat, I'm sorry, I can't take you to school, today. We just got new intelligence. Can you get someone else to take you?" Tony asked as you walked into the dining room with your breakfast. Loki was already there. You looked over at him, questioningly. You knew that he had heard Tony's question. The entire room would have.Loki nodded in answer to your silent question. You nodded to Tony. "Thanks. And thank you for not arguing. I know how you feel about feeling babysat, but I want to make sure you're safe.Even if it _is_ Reindeer Games keeping you that way.Plus, if he fails, I can kill him and no one will complain,” Tony added with a laugh.You knew he was joking.Or hoped he was joking.Well, at the very least you knew he didn’t want Loki to fail.Tony gave you a hug and rushed off to go do work. You sat down with Loki.

"Thank you," you told him. He nodded, then gave you his put-upon look, but this time mixed with the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"It is such a hardship to have to spend time with your beloved," he replied with a grin.

You rolled your eyes."You are a creature made entirely of silliness," you laughed at him.

"Mischief and chaos," he corrected, laughing along with you. "Not silliness,"

"I'm not seeing the difference." You stuck your tongue out at him.

"You wound me, lady," he held his hand over his heart with mock-surprise. You erupted into more giggles. You were still laughing when you left the dining room and started your walk to the school.

"You don't have to wear your battle armor,” you told him when you got to the door. "This isn't official guard duty," you reminded him. He thought that over, but didn't change his outfit.

"I am still guarding you. I would rather be prepared.”You nodded, and didn't complain when he took your bag from me. We walked to school hand-in-hand. Today was different, though, in that he had to leave you at the entrance to the school. He couldn't follow you in today.

"I'm going to miss you," you told him softly.

"And I, you," he replied formally. He leaned down and kissed you. "I will be paying attention though. Just call for you if you need your help and I will be here. Promise me you will not hesitate if that boy bothers you again. Just because he is human, it does not mean he can get away with hurting you." You heard the pleading in his voice.

"I promise," you told him. You stood up on your toes to kiss him again before you consented to going inside and pretending you cared about school. You cared about getting good grades.You didn’t care about school. 

You avoided jock-boy the entire day. He didn't go out of his way to try to harass you, which definitely helped. You hoped he would leave it at that.You didn’t want to deal with his drama.

You still got notes from Loki throughout the day. He had memorized your class schedule and knew which classes you needed to pay attention in and only sent you notes during those where you could afford the distractions. You appreciated his thoughtfulness. You sent him notes back when you could and sent him a selfie at lunch. You got one in return of him shirtless in the workout training room. He looked like he had been working out for awhile. You grinned at the picture and made sure to save it.

You weren’t surprised when he was waiting for you at the entrance to the school when classes ended. "That was a very nice picture you sent me," you greeted him with a grin when he took your bag from you.

"Was it?" he asked, all innocence.Innocent didn’t work on him.He didn’t have an innocent bone in his body.Especially not this time.

"Yes, Trickster, a very nice picture indeed." He hmmed and seemed to ponder that one some more. You got your phone out and held it in front of us in selfie mode. You were still standing a step or two above him, so it was the perfect height difference for this. "Smile," you told him. He took the phone from me, since his arms were longer. You wrapped your arms around his neck from behind, so our faces were together in the picture.

"Out of the way, lovebirds," you heard a sneering voice behind you, before you were knocked into and thrown down the stairs outside of the school. Loki managed to grab you and pulled you to him, steadying you before you could fall. He glared into the crowd, but couldn't find the culprit.

"Come on, love, let's get out of here,” he said as he scanned the area, on alert now.You nodded and walked with him with his arm around your waist. When you got back to the compound, you stopped him before he could insist on combat training.

"Aren't you tired? You were training this morning," you reminded him. You didn't want him wearing himself out on your account.

"I will be fine. No squirming out of practice," he told you firmly.

So you spent an hour working on your dagger and staff fighting skills.

You had a quiet dinner together that night, as all of the supers were out on patrol again. It was dusk when he asked. "Would you like to go for a walk in the gardens?"

"I'm grounded," you reminded him. You would be glad the next day when your stupid grounding was be over.

He gave you a mischievous smirk."The gardens are part of the compound, where you are allowed, even grounded," he reminded you. You smiled at him.

"That sounds like an excellent idea." You jumped to your feet, tired of being cooped up. He laughed and took your hand. The green glow of his magic flowed over you and you were dressed in jeans, your black converse, and a coat over a long sleeved t-shirt and a hoodie. He had even magic-ed a hat and gloves. You rolled your eyes.

"It would not do for you to catch a cold," he informed you.You rolled your eyes. You wasn't that fragile, and it was getting warmer. Spring had already started trying to make an appearance in the two days since the flurries the night of the meteor shower.

You removed the hat, gloves, and heavy coat. Loki looked worried, but didn't argue with you. He took your hand and you strolled out of the main building into the gardens. They were lit at night and the lights were just coming on. You spent a long time walking and checking out every inch of the gardens. It felt great to be outside and out of routine, even if you were still on compound property.

You were at the very back of the gardens, at the point where they touched the boundary of the property when you heard voices and laughter. Not normal laughter, the creepy laughter of psycho clowns. They had a very distinctive laugh.

Loki pushed you behind him and you started backing the way you came, towards the main building, hoping they wouldn't hear you. You could tell by the laughter that you would be _way_ outnumbered.

Luck was not with you that night.

At all.

Stupid luck.

With a pounding of feet, and more psycho laughter, you were surrounded by at least twenty clowns, all in horrible costumes and makeup.You wanted to kill them all just on principle. "Give us the girl," one of them laughed. This started a chorus of more creepy laughter and all of them making the demand.

"I'm sorry, love," Loki whispered.

You looked over at him, horrified and confused by those words, until you saw the glowing green circle form under you, around your feet. When it completed, you fell through. You shrieked as you kept falling. You landed hard on a soft bed. Loki's bed, you realized. You had just been there that morning, delivering his gift to him.

You were going to kill him for fighting all of those clowns alone, for teleporting you to safety while he stayed behind to fight. You moved to get up to go run and try to help him, but quickly realized that that wasn't happening.

You were going to kill him even more dead for this.

Your hands were shackled with the chains Loki had worn his first month in the tower. That might not have stopped you on its own, neither would the fact that you were barefoot and back in your pajamas, but there was a chain leading from the shackles and secured around the bed post. You tugged uselessly at the chain, but it was stuck fast and the bed post wasn't going to break, not under your human strength.

You were stuck here in safety while Loki was out there risking his life. You growled and tried again to free yourself, but your bonds weren’t giving at all. The only, only good thing was that there was enough chain that you could sit comfortably on the bed while you waited for him and worried over his safety, as well as plotting how you were going to kill him when he got up here.

You were going to kill him so very, very dead for this.

If the clowns didn’t beat you to it.


	17. Chapter 17

It felt like an eternity later when Loki finally appeared before you. He materialized in a shimmer of green magic, holding his hands up in surrender. At least he had come expecting that you would be angry with him. Despite that he was clearly apologetic, you still chucked one of his pillows at himas you jumped to your feet, chains jangling. It wasn’t the best weapon, but would express your displeasure with him clearly.Even though you were mad at him, you weren’t going to throw his gift at him, or actually hurt him. He was also carefully standing just out of your reach.

You realized that it wasn’t really Loki, but an illusion instead, as the pillow you threw at him, flew right through him. His illusions couldn’t be touched.

“Why have you been training me to fight if the second there is a hint of danger, you lock me up like some helpless princess?” you demanded, tears of anger falling down your cheeks.Stupid tears, they weren’t helping your cause.

“There were simply too many of them, love. There were over twenty of them, just to start, and only two of us. More of them came once they caught a glimpse of you, and even more came directly here to the compound. You were their target tonight, love. Not me, not stealing objects, or whatever other petty things they are usually after. Tonight, they only wanted you. Even with all of my tricks and all of my magic and powers, I was not going to risk your safety, when I am your only guard tonight. Especially, when you were the one they were after. Even I had to call backup to take them all on, and even I did not get away from all of them unscathed. I was not leaving you in that kind of danger. I am sorry, so very sorry, for this,” he gestured toward the chains, “but I could not risk you returning before it was safe.”

“You should have let me help,” you protested, still angry, though the emotion was fading under the force of his logic. Part of that was his silver tongue, but he was making valid points.Even if you hated all of them.

He shook his head.“My first duty is to protect you. I accomplished that the only way I could. They would have taken you. Please, love, please, understand that. They would have kidnapped you before backup came. There were too many. Some of them even broke into the compound before help arrived. I could not have kept them from you had I not brought you here. So I did the only thing I could. I know you are upset, and I accept that. I am not sorry for protecting you. I am sorry for the way it had to be done.” You heard the heartbreak in his words and the terror that he had felt. You knew then that he hadn’t been lying or exaggerating. There really had been that many of the clowns for him to have been that scared for your safety.

He hesitated before he opened his mouth again to speak. You saw the hesitation and knew that his next words were the most important part of his speech. He took a breath before he spoke. You could see how hard these words were for him to say, so you waited patiently and didn't pressure him. “You are aware that I can see glimpses of the future?” you nodded. He had just told you that yesterday morning. It seemed so long ago, but it was just yesterday morning that you were up on the roof watching the meteor shower. “For the last fortnight I have had the same vision. It was of you, my darling, dying in my arms during an attack on the compound. And every time I see it, I have to watch you die and know that there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop it or save you,”

His words eased your hurt and anger. You would have done the same thing in his shoes. Especially had you seen his death in visions of the future. “I understand,” you finally admitted.You paused, gathering your words before you continued.“I'm sorry you keep seeing that. Hopefully the visions will go away now that the attack is over,” you told him. It wasn't enough, but it was all that you could say. You still wished he had told you, or had come up with a better plan to protect you.

It was then that some of his first words hit you. “You said you didn’t get out of this unscathed. You’re hurt? Where are you? Let me help!” You begged him, desperate to help him.

“Please, promise me you will stay up here a little while longer. I will come to you when it is safe,”

“Loki! Please, surely backup is here by now. Please, let me help you,” you couldn’t stand the thought that he was hurt. He thought about it for a moment, considering, and you knew it was your safety that he was concerned about.

“Do not make me regret this,” he told you. You nodded, you wouldn't betray his trust. The chains vanished. Your dagger in its sheath appeared on the bed. “I am in the infirmary. Be safe, or I shall be quite cross with you.” You saw the hint of a smile in his expression and knew that he would be ok, even if he was injured. If he could make any kind of joke, you knew he would be ok. The illusion faded instead of coming with you though, so you also knew that he was more injured than he was letting on. You strapped on the dagger sheath and made sure it was secure before you ran from the room, heading straight for the infirmary. There were so many people milling around, still dealing with the aftermath of the attack, but none of them noticed you, somehow. Until Tony caught you right outside the infirmary.

“Kat!” he exclaimed. You cursed your luck. He grabbed you and pulled you into a hug, crushing you with his strength. “Are you ok?” he asked. You nodded, barely able to move because he held you so tightly.

“I’m fine, Uncle Tony.” you only just managed to get the words out. He loosened his grip when he realized you were struggling to breathe. “Loki got me out of there before the fight even began,” you reassured him. You didn’t know what story Loki had told them, so you were keeping your story vague, until you could collaborate.

“Thank god,” he whispered, still holding you too tight. “When the alarm came in, I was so worried something had happened to you,”

“I’m fine, Uncle Tony,” you reminded him again.Maybe if you said the words enough times, he’d believe you.

“You should go back upstairs. Everything is under control here,” he told you firmly.The words were a suggestion, but you heard the order being him.

You heard it and promptly ignored it.

You shook your head; Tony scowled at you. “I need to get to the infirmary,” you told him firmly. He looked down at you confused. “Loki’s in there. He was hurt saving me from those clowns,” you explained. He nodded and let you go, understanding the need to help an injured teammate if nothing else. Plus Loki had gotten injured saving your life and freedom. You ran into the infirmary the second Tony let you go. There were others who had been injured, so it took you a minute to find where Loki was. “Loki!” You called when you saw him and ran to him. You hugged him, even though he was in a hospital bed, even though he was injured. You had to hold him, had to make sure he was real.

“Shh, love. I’m here, this is not an illusion and I will be just fine,” he promised you, though he held you tightly while the doctors stitched up the last of the wounds they had been working on. He had a head wound, a large gash in one arm, his other arm was in a sling. He was battered, covered in cuts and scrapes and looked like one giant bruise. He was a lot more injured than he had let on.

“Why aren’t you healing yourself?” You asked him, concerned. He gave you a small smile.

“Teleporting thirty odd clowns to Siberia takes quite a bit of magic,” he chuckled, deflecting the explanation.

“You couldn’t have done that before you were injured?” You grumped at him. He laughed and you finally felt better, until you realized when he must have been injured, while he was teleporting you away. That was the only time he would have been distracted enough to allow them to hurt him. “They hurt you while you were saving me,” you said softly. He wouldn’t look at you, so you knew it was true.

“I will be just fine, darling, please do not worry. I am just glad that you are safe,” he told you gently.

“What happened to the rest of the clowns?” you asked.

“Some escaped when the backup arrived. Some fought. There are quite a few who were captured and are in the holding cells downstairs.” you nodded and curled up next to him, glad that he was relatively ok. It was difficult to manage with him so injured, and in a hospital bed, but you did. You could tell that it made him feel better to have you near when he knew that you were safe.

It took a long while longer before he could leave, but there were others who were injured and needed his bed. He wasn’t in any real danger, so he was finally allowed to leave to go back to his own bed to recover. It also helped that you could promise to keep an eye on him and alert them if he got worse. You could tell he wanted to get out of the infirmary as much as you wanted to. So this time, you were allowed to walk him up to his bedroom, steadying him with one of his arms around your shoulders while you supported him with an arm around his waist.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” you grinned up at him as you walked, trying to get him to smile. He looked down at you and you saw a glint of humor under his pained expression. It had only been a week since the last time you helped him up to his room like this after he had been injured.

“I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, my dear,” he murmured. His focus was on remaining upright and fighting through the pain. You took as much of his weight as you could, but you knew your help wasn't really enough. Somehow, you got him back to his room and settled on his bed, propped against the pillows. You sheepishly went to get the pillow you had thrown at his illusion earlier to add to the pile behind him. “Keep it,” he bid you gently. “There's a spare blanket on the chair,” he gestured to the recliner where the blanket was indeed waiting for you. At least he knew that you weren't going to leave him while he was injured.

“You haven’t opened your present,” you told him, breaking the silence before it got awkward, handing him the box you had hastily wrapped that morning.

“A present?” he asked, both confused and pleased. “What is the occasion?”

“You’re always leaving me little presents. You wanted to do something for you too,” you told him. He opened the box and pulled out the plush dragon. He looked at it confused for a moment until he realized it was Toothless and lit up at it.“I know it’s silly, but he was cute and reminded me of you. He’s spent a lot of time with me, but I thought you might like his company for awhile. Especially with how much you love the movie,” you explained with a grin.

He grinned back, pleased by the gift. “Then I will cherish his company,” he set the dragon next to him on the bed. He slid over on the bed, making room for you. You didn’t care about propriety, not tonight. You were too worried for him because of how injured he was. You wished, not for the first time, that you had healing powers. You sat on the bed with him with your borrowed pillow and blanket.

“It won't hurt you for me to be here?” You asked. You didn't want him to be in any more pain.

“No, darling, and even if it did, it would be worth it,” he told you gently, softly. You leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. His lips seemed to be the only part of him that weren't injured.

“How did you get so injured?” You asked him, concerned. You knew his combat and magic skills were strong enough that he should have been ok, even against those odds. He sighed.

“The clowns are all civilians. They have all been brainwashed by The Harlequin to do her bidding,”

“So you pulled your punches to avoid hurting them more than you had to?” You surmised. He nodded. “And the ones you sent to Siberia?” You couldn't believe he had sent innocents to Siberia.

“I resummoned them once it became clear to me that the clowns were not acting on their own free will.” That's where his magic had gone. “They are being treated downstairs to see if our healers are able to break the mind control on them,” he added before you could ask.

“Why did you send me here, instead of to my room?” you asked, promising yourself you’d let him get some rest after this last question. You weren't even going to ask why he had chosen here instead of some safe house or safe room somewhere.

“Here was safer,” he replied. “If they broke in and came looking for you, your rooms would be the first place they would look. I could also hide your scent, and your...psychic presence… by hiding you here where you would be surrounded by mine instead,” you raised your eyebrow and he continued his explanation.“The clowns are nearly animalistic, they hunt by scent. Some of them also are supers, or have some magic, so they are able to hunt magically as well. Since you do not have powers of your own, it was safer to hide you where your...aura... would be dampened,” you thought you understood that. They couldn't find you if all they could sense was him. “Also I have been putting the strongest shield spells I know on these rooms for the last fortnight,” he admitted. He'd been doing that since he started having the visions of my death.

“You planned for this,” you accused. He nodded.

“I do not wish for you to perish, darling, and I would do anything to keep that from happening.” Curses, you were going to have to ask him another question. You promised yourself this one really would be the last before you let him rest.

“I snuck in here this morning,” you told him, “to leave the present. Why didn't your shields keep me out?” you weren't accusing him of insufficient work, but if you could get in, then so could others.

He laughed in reply. “I allowed you, darling. You felt you knocking on them and let you get away with your mischief.”

You laughed then, relieved.“You should get some rest,” you told him, settling the dagger more carefully so you would be able to access it quickly if there was trouble.

“Are you staying?” he asked. You could hear how hard he was fighting not to pressure you to stay.

You nodded. “Unless you don't want me to. Besides, what if they come back?” you doubted they would be back tonight, but you both knew you were safer here if they did. He was safer with you here as well.

“Your uncle will kill me for not kicking you out,” he murmured, but laid down, a faint green glow surrounding him, when he finally started using his healing magic on himself. You thought he had been waiting to make sure you were safe before he healed himself. Stubborn male.

“He’ll get over it,” you grumped. “Besides, you saved my life. The least I can do I make sure you're safe while you heal,”

“You do not need to keep vigil all night, lady. You need sleep. My shields will keep us safe,”

“Hush, Trickster, get some rest,” you bid him. He stopped arguing, closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep, the green glow intensifying once he was asleep. You could pull an all nighter for a good cause. And this was the best cause you could imagine.


	18. Chapter 18

You successfully pulled the all-nighter, watching as Loki healed throughout the night.You studied by the light of his bedside lamp for the entire night, one hand on the dagger next to you, just in case. Though you kept glancing at Loki while he slept.It was amazing to watch the healing spells work and he was very nearly healed by morning. He didn’t stir the entire night, while the spells worked. 

You were also grateful that he woke before your alarm went off so you didn’t have to make any difficult decisions, such as whether or not to wake him before he was startled awake by your alarm.“Morning,” you greeted him softly when he stirred.

His eyes flew open and daggers appeared in his hands as he jolted up, scanning the room for danger.“Easy, Loki, easy, it’s just me!” you reassured him, though you had a dagger floating threateningly at your throat.You waited, without moving, for him to realize who you were. 

Loki wouldn’t hurt you, you knew that. Even half asleep, he wouldn’t hurt you. 

You hoped.

It took a moment for his eyes to calm as he took in the scene. The daggers all vanished and he pulled you into his arms with horror in his eyes. “Y/N! I’m so, so sorry,” he exclaimed, then kept saying the words over and over again while he held you, rocking you as if he couldn’t believe he’d nearly slit your throat. It was strange to hear him use your actual name, which is how you knew exactly how distressed he was.

“It’s ok. I’m sorry you startled you,” you replied soothingly.You had known he wouldn’t hurt you, even if a dagger at your throat was terrifying. Loki had just had to remember that you were there, that it was you in his room.That he was safe.You knew the torture he had been through was what had made him so jumpy.

Loki kissed your forehead and finally loosened his grip, convinced he hadn’t hurt you. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he whispered against your hair.

“Are you feeling better?” you asked, instead of succumbing to his romance.Your alarm would go off soon and you’d have to leave for school.You wanted to make sure he was really ok before you did. “It seems like you’ve healed some.” He had healed a lot, in fact. The wound above his eye and the gash on his arm still hadn’t closed all the way, and he still had bruises and had obviously been in a fight, but you didn’t think you had to worry about his safety.

“I have healed immensely, darling, but I appreciate your concern,” he smiled down at you and could couldn’t help getting lost in his eyes in that moment of seeing him so carefree. 

Of course your stupid alarm started blaring then.You shut it off and got out of the bed. “You are going to school without any sleep?” he asked, frowning. He clearly didn’t approve.And he somehow knew you’d stayed up all night.

“Of course I am.I have three tests today,” you reminded him.You had been studying for the tests all night. You’d also been telling him about them for a week.He had helped you prepare yesterday afternoon before you went on your ill conceived walk.You kissed his forehead. “You seem healed enough that I can safely leave you to protect yourself. Feel better, love,” you bid him. It was strange for you to say ‘love’ to him, but it seemed like the right word, and it earned you a smile from him, though his smile was tired and wan.

You left his suite to go get ready for school, though you knew it was going to be a long day.You snuck into Tony’s suite on your way to breakfast and stole a couple of the energy drinks from his mini-fridge.You told myself you’d replace them, but you knew that was a lie. Especially since he hadn’t caught you taking them. You downed the first one before you even made it to the dining room.You cursed yourself for not stealing all of them. He probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

Helene handed you your breakfast plate.You waved to Nat and Bruce as they were leaving the dining room, talking about an upcoming mission as they walked.Clint rushed to catch up with them.You rarely saw the original Avengers, besides Uncle Tony, but you were always kind to them when you saw them.They waved back and you continued to the dining room to find Loki at your table.You were tempted to throw something at his head to see if he was an illusion, but held back the urge.Barely.“Loki! What are you doing here? You should be in bed,” you reminded him firmly. Especially as he was wearing his battle armor. He was supposed to be in bed resting, not down here eating with you.

He had stood when you entered the room, gentleman that he was.“Having breakfast with you, my dear,” he replied with a smirk. He waited for you to take your seat before he would sit again, so you sat quickly. “Please do not tell you you thought you were going to school alone after you were attacked last night,”

“Fine, I won’t tell you that,” you replied. It was obvious enough that you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction. He chuckled. “I will remind you again, that you should be in bed healing. Someone else can come with me if you’re really that concerned.” You knew how injured Loki had been and he wasn’t fully healed.

“I am healed enough to accompany you,” he replied, “without jeopardizing our day tomorrow,” he added before you could whine.You smiled at that.You had nearly forgotten in all of the excitement that you were going out tomorrow. He still hadn’t told you what you were doing on said outing, but you were glad to be off being grounded.

“You’re going to have to give you at least some clue as to what we’re doing so you know what to wear,” you tried that angle to at least get a hint.

He thought about it for a second. “I will pick something out for you,” he finally said.You rolled your eyes, but the man had such an impeccable fashion sense that you couldn’t argue. He would pick something that was appropriate and that looked fantastic on you.You would have to come up with a different angle to find out what he was doing.

“Don’t forget that Uncle Tony and I are going out after school,” you reminded him.

He nodded. “Tony will be picking us up from the school,” he told you.You raised an eyebrow at that.When had this been decided?“And apparently will not be speaking to me while I am in the backseat of the car pretending I am not there. Or those were my instructions,” he grumbled, pouting. 

You laughed at that. “Like that’s going to happen,”

As you headed to the exit to the tower, you evaluated Loki.He seemed like he was doing much better.There was no sign of any limping and his arm was out of the sling.You couldn’t find anything that was wrong enough with him to forbid him to come with you.Try as you might.

Tony stopped you on our way to the door.“Kat, I know you hate guards, but those clowns specifically said they were after you yesterday.I still don’t know why they want you in particular, but that’s all the information we’ve gotten out of them. So please, don’t do anything stupid like try to ditch your guard,” he practically begged you to behave. 

You rolled your eyes with a huff. “Uncle Tony, I was _thirteen_ the last time I pulled that stunt. I’m not stupid enough to try it again. Especially not with the ass busting I got from Fury and the three months I was grounded for it,”

“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Tony threatened Loki, ignoring your comments. You rolled your eyes harder at being ignored.Stubborn snarly males.

“I will guard her with my life,” Loki replied. Like that wasn’t obvious, he had done it just last night.You rolled your eyes and stomped out of the compound. Stupid boys and their testosterone poisoning. Loki caught up to you before you had taken two steps out of the tower.You weren’t surprised. Guarding you was his job that day after all. “What happened when you were thirteen?” Loki asked you when you were out of the tower. 

You sighed heavily, but knew he wouldn’t give up until you’d told him.“I was a stupid teenager.I wanted to go out with my friends from my old school. It wasn’t long after my parents had died, so security was maxed and I had a twenty-four hour guard. Fury neglected to have the guard follow me into the school, assuming I would be safe there.Unfortunately, the kids were ditching school that day, since it was the last day of school in order to go to the amusement park. I walked in one door, walked right out another and caught up with my friends. The guard and the supers had no idea that I was gone until the guard came to pick me up at the end of the day and I wasn’t there.I spent all summer grounded and wasn’t allowed to step a toe out of the tower. Fury also made me do ‘community service’ by helping the supers with their training every day and working around the compound. It was the worst summer _ever_ ,” you told him the story in a whine.You didn’t want to live through anything like that again.

Loki was laughing, though at your story.“All of those supers were outsmarted by a thirteen year old civilian girl?” he roared in laughter. You nodded and he started laughing harder. “No wonder they were so upset. I would not lose you that easily,” he reminded you.

“Of course not. Not that I’m planning on trying it. Besides, I’m not grounded right now, so I could just tell you whatever I was planning and you’d join in for pure mischief’s sake,” you reminded him with a grin. He nodded.

“Quite right,” he agreed.You took your bag from him before you got to the school.You still didn’t want the faculty getting any idea that he was your boyfriend.You didn’t want them making a fuss.

“Looks like the kitten was too rough on you in bed last night, loverboy,” you heard the sneer of the jock as you walked into the school.

“Loki! No!” you called, grabbing Loki’s arm as he turned to face the jock, a dagger already in his hand. “Just ignore him.” Jock boy laughed, but you managed to get Loki into the school, mostly by walking that way and knowing he would be obligated to follow to guard you.

“He is insulting your honor,” Loki snarled.You rolled your eyes.

“He’s a moron and he’s graduating in a few months. I’ll be rid of him then. He can’t actually hurt me,” you reminded him. He relaxed then, but only barely.You knew you wouldn’t be able to stop him again if the jock did something else stupid today. Loki fell into step in his usual guard position.

It was hard focusing on your Latin test when you were running on no sleep and post attack anxiety. People kept looking at Loki that too. It was obvious he had been in a fight.You had explained to the front office about the attack last night, and therefore about Loki’s return to guard duty. 

You still had two more tests to survive too.You somehow survived them, and was glad when lunch finally rolled around.You downed the second of the energy drinks you had stolen. Loki looked disapproving.

“Please tell me you will eat something as well,” he whispered magically in your ear.

“I will,” you whispered back and headed straight for the lunch line.You handed him a full tray instead of just his usual sandwich. “I don’t want to hear that you’re on duty.You’re healing, you need to eat,” you told him sternly. For once, he didn’t argue, but sat at your table with you and you ate your lunches together. “Do you know why the clowns were after me?” you asked him. He shook his head.

“I do not. They were very insistent that stealing you was the entire motive behind their attack last night, but I do not know why.” You nodded and mulled it over, but the only reason you could think they would want you is because of your relation to Tony, but that didn’t really seem like a good enough reason, not for as big of an operation as they had the previous night.

Loki was bored by the time your English class came around.You didn’t blame him.You were bored and exhausted by then too. <What would you like for your birthday?> one of his magical notes asked during class.You smirked at it, glad you had an answer prepared.

<Where are you taking me tomorrow?> you shot back.You got a doodle of him pouting in reply, which nearly made you giggle aloud.You drew him a doodle of you smiling.Your doodle wasn’t nearly as good, but you had to draw it by hand instead of by magic.

You was so very glad when the school day ended. You and Loki left together. Tony’s car was waiting out front for you. “How much magic do you have now?” you asked Loki as you were walking towards Tony’s car.

“Why?”

“I was going to ask for a favor, but won’t if it would take power you need, or if you don’t have enough, especially since you’re still healing,” you admitted, though you wouldn’t look at him.You hated asking for favors, especially since your favor might hurt him by taking power he needed.

“What favor, dear?” he asked gently, softening his tone at your obvious discomfort. “You know I will do anything in my power for you,”

You held out your hand to him. “Would you mind... helping, so I don’t have to go shopping and out to dinner in my school uniform?” you asked softly.You really hated asking him for magical help.

“Of course, darling,” he replied.You heard the smile in his voice and looked up at him. He took your hand and turned you so you were facing him. He lifted your hand and kissed your knuckles. As he did, his green magical glow surrounded you, and you were wearing a pair of perfectly tailored jeans, a comfy, but elegant black sweater, your converse because you loved them, and a black lightweight peacoat.Your schoolbag had disappeared.

“Thank you,”

“Anytime, love. It is no trouble, and you needn’t worry about that little spell draining me,”

“That’s good to hear,” you replied.You took Loki’s hand and you walked together the rest of the way to Tony’s car. Loki held your car door open for you and closed it behind you once you were safely inside.

“What was that?” Tony growled at you while Loki climbed in the backseat of the car.

“I asked him for help.You know I hate going out in my uniform,” you reminded him. “It’s not indecent or anything, please, it’s less revealing than a magical girl anime’s transformation sequence.” Tony grumbled again, but didn’t argue anymore.You had a point and he saw for himself that nothing inappropriate had happened. “I know it’s early for dinner, but I’m starving. Mind getting some food first?” he asked you, completely ignoring Loki. Neither of you were surprised by that.

“Sure. What’d you have in mind?” you asked.

“There’s the new Japanese place you wanted to try,” Tony suggested.

“Sounds good,” you agreed. He took off in the direction of the restaurant. 

You laughed your way through teaching Loki to eat with chopsticks. Tony finally seemed to relax around Loki when you could all sit around and be normal. He had even convinced Loki to ditch his battle clothes and dress like a normal person for once.

After that, Tony drove you to the car dealership.You had no idea what he was planning, but your jaw dropped when you pulled in. “A Jaguar? Seriously?” you asked him, staring around you at the gorgeous vehicles.You knew nothing about cars, but you knew that these were fancy and stupidly expensive. Tony grinned.

“I thought you’d like it.I remember you commented how much you liked them during that super bowl commercial,” he told you with a smirk. You’d loved those ads.He pulled into a parking spot. “There’s yours,” he pointed to a beautiful white car with a giant red bow on it.You made some kind of squealing, excited, noise that only teenage girls are capable of, hugged his neck tightly, and jumped out of the car to go examine your new car.

“It’s perfect, you love it. Thank you, Uncle Tony!” you ran over and gave him another hug. After a little last minute paperwork (Tony had done most of it already) you were handed the keys to your new car. Tony took your picture in front of it and you were beaming like an idiot. 

“You’re welcome, Kat. Happy birthday, for like the next 12 years, mind. Try not to stay out too late joyriding, ok?” he chuckled, knowingly.You gave him another hug before grabbing Loki’s hand so you could go for a ride together in your new car.


	19. Chapter 19

You didn't stay out driving terribly late that evening and also tried not to drive your new car too crazily fast. Though it was really, _really_ hard to remind yourself that you didn't want a ticket on your first day of driving your own car.

"I love seeing you this happy," Loki commented from the passenger seat while you were out driving. It was strange for him to be so open and relaxed, even with you.You’d gotten used to him being on guard over you, especially while you were out of the tower.

You smiled over at him for a second before turning your full attention back to the road."It means a lot that Uncle Tony remembered something I said a couple years ago and surprised me with something so awesome," you explained to Loki.You’d also never told Tony that the reason you liked that particular super bowl commercial so much happened to do with the actor in said Jaguar commercial.A particular actor who played Loki in the Avengers movies.Yeah, you’d never, ever tell him about that and just enjoy your expensive car… "He had been saying for months that he was going to get me my own car. I was expecting some kind of used car, which is typically what kids get for their first car," you continued your explanation."Instead, he got me something with real meaning." Loki nodded. You could tell he was thinking hard about what you said. "You still are under no obligation or expectation to get me anything for my birthday," you reminded him forcefully.You didn’t need anything.

"As if that would stop me," he replied. You could hear the eyeroll in his voice.You sighed at your silly trickster of a boyfriend.

It wasn't long before you drove the pair of you back to the tower. Really, you hadn’t been planning on having a huge joyride in your new car, but you couldn’t just drive _straight_ home either.

You showed off your gift to the supers at the compound, who all oohed and ahhed, and were generally jealous.

It was still fairly early when Loki suggested you go upstairs and watch a movie on your TV instead of hanging out with the crowd. You figured he wanted to use more healing magic away from prying eyes and gladly went upstairs with him. You changed into your pajamas and curled up on your couch with him, gladly watching whatever movie he had chosen. You hadn't even paid attention to what it was.

Before the end of the movie, you felt your eyes growing heavy. It was barely 9pm. You glared at the clock, wondering what was wrong with you.You remembered that you had pulled an all-nighter, when you really weren't used to doing it, but even that shouldn’t have made you _that_ tired…

Loki smiled warmly down at you and leaned in for a kiss. You gladly kissed him back. He raised a glowing hand to you. "May I?" you didn't know what he was asking, but you trusted him, so you nodded. He laid his glowing hand on your forehead.

"You need rest before our big day tomorrow. I wish for you to be able to enjoy it fully,” he explained as his magic was swirling around you.“You especially need rest after you kept vigil over me all of last night," he whispered, "and you need rest without dreams, without having to fight that nightmare again," he added even softer. Or you thought it was softer. 

You felt the heaviness of sleep crashing over you as his spell wrapped around you like a warm blanket."Cheater," you mumbled, leaning in to him as your eyes were fluttering shut. You didn't need his help to sleep, but you appreciated knowing that tonight you wouldn’t have to face that nightmare.

"Sleep, darling," he bid you gently. He swept you up off of the couch, into his cool strong arms to carry you to bed. "You are the most precious thing in the world to me, my darling. I love you," you weren't sure those last words were real, as you was too far lost to the land of sleep, but they made you smile regardless.

*

Loki got you up early the next morning, looking like an excited puppy. You laughed as you climbed out of bed. He was completely healed now, and you felt refreshed after your night of dreamless sleep. "Morning," you told him as you sat up in bed.

"Good morning, love," he handed you a cup of tea, and then indicated the clothes that were sitting in your comfy chair. "I did tell you I would pick something out for you to wear," he reminded you, when you looked at him confused as to why he looked so proud of himself.

You giggled at that. "So you did," you agreed and earned yourself a grin in return.You could sense his impatient excitement. So you drank your tea quickly, glad it wasn’t scalding hot, and set the empty teacup down on your nightstand and wrapped your arms around him so you could better give him a kiss.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked with a hint of concern once the kiss was broken.

"Very, with no dreams," you added the last part so he wouldn't worry. He smiled in relief, then kissed you again.

"I will leave you to get ready," he told you and went to wait in your sitting room. You dressed in a very similar outfit to last night's, a pair of perfectly tailored jeans, and equally well fitting dark green sweater. You were going to have to ask him how he kept coming up with such well fitting clothes for you one of these days, but today was not that day.

You managed to tame your curls and get them to curl properly. You tended to keep the mane of curls tied up most of the time. It was comic-book red and tended to draw attention, especially since you’d been in the news more than once and people knew you as Ironman’s niece. You were basically a celebrity, which you hated.

You didn't have to worry about that right that moment, though.Loki was waiting for you.

You entered your sitting room to find Loki in normal clothes for once: perfectly tailored jeans, a button-down shirt, with a dress sweater over top of it. You smiled at him. It looked fantastic on him, and you told him as much. "And you are radiant today, my love," he replied, bending down to give you another kiss.

"So are you going to tell you what we're doing today yet?" you asked. He shook his head. You huffed at him, but giggled anyway. He held out his hand, palm up.

"I am also driving us, today," he told you, insistently.

"Loki..." it was your brand new car, he couldn't just claim it.

"You do not know where you are going. Plus, it is traditional for the gentleman to drive his lady during a date," he reminded you, quite logically.His voice was gentle and patient, though.He knew you were uncomfortable giving up your car, even if you were going to be with him while he was driving.

"Fine, but you better drive carefully. I haven't even had a chance to name my new car yet," you told him, your voice a whine. Though you _did_ fish the keys out of your purse and handed them to him.

"I will do nothing to endanger you or your new car," he promised solemnly. He took your hand and led you from the suite. His mood was infections and you couldn't help getting giggly and excited too. You hadn't been on a real date before. You weren't exactly popular at school and most people were scared of your superhero uncle to even consider trying.

*

You hadn’t been expecting your outing to be an all-day event. No wonder Loki had said that you needed rest to be able to enjoy the day.

You went out for breakfast at a nearby joint that had the best pancakes. In the universe

After that, he took your to the zoo. You thought that he wanted to see all of Earth's animals. Half of the fun was watching him look at all of the new animals and commenting on them and how practical their designs (or not) or how they compared to Asgardian creatures.

It was still just cool enough that the ice rink in the zoo was still open. Loki led you towards it. "Loki, I don't know how to skate," you told him.You could hear the nerves in your voice. Physical activity wasn’t your forte. 

“Then I will simply have to teach you," he replied warmly. "Come, it is fun," he insisted, dragging you by the hand toward the skate rental place. You let him lead you onto the ice with tiny blades on your feet. He was a natural at it and you blamed the fact that he was a frost giant. You felt like an idiot.He somehow managed to keep you upright, though, and teach you the very basics of skating. You were both laughing the entire time. You were terrible at it while he flew and glided across the ice, but it was still amazing fun.

He drove you back to the compound late that afternoon. You were expecting the date to be over then, but you found that you were very wrong. Loki led you upstairs so you could freshen up before dinner. You wondered what that meant, but before you could bother him about it, he disappeared into his own room to get ready.

That seemed strange to you, since he usually got ready by magic. You ducked into your own suite to see a gorgeous dark green dress waiting for you on your bed. No wonder you needed to freshen up. You put the dress on carefully. It was exquisite: a dark green shell with a matching lace layer on top. It had long sleeves and went down to your knees. It fit beyond perfectly and looked fantastic on. There were matching low heels to go with it. You found a silver necklace with a black stone in your jewelry box and just a touch of makeup. The necklace had been your mom's and was one of the few things you had been able to salvage from the fire.

You opened your sittingroom door and could only stare in awe when you saw Loki. He was standing in your sittingroom in a perfectly tailored all black suit. He even had a black dress shirt and black tie. His raven hair was loose to his shoulders. He looked at you like you were the only thing in his universe. You went to him and he offered you an elegant court bow. "You look radiant, lady," he greeted you formally as he took your hand, lifting it to kiss your knuckles.

"And you are beyond handsome," you told him in reply. He stood and you gave him a kiss, then a mischievous grin.

"Oh dear, what are you planning?" he asked, not trusting your mischievous plotting smirk. You took his hand and led him into your bedroom. You sat him on the chair in front of your dresser. "Love, darling, what are you doing?" he asked, even more concerned when you pulled out your hairspray and your phone so you could get just the right reference picture.

"Please trust me. This is going to be perfect and a lot of fun!" you told him with a grin.

"This better be fun," he grumbled at you, but sat still while you got to work, combing his raven hair back from his face and using a mix of gel, hairspray, and a touch of his magic to get it just right. You had seen the latest Loki movie (ok, technically it was a Thor movie, but who cared about that tiny detail?) with Tony when it first came out. When you were done, your Loki looked like he had just walked out of the movie into real life. It was his fault for wearing the all black suit and giving you the idea.

"Ta-da!" you told him proudly when you was done. He looked confused. He didn't get it. You didn't blame him. He hadn't seen the movie yet.

"Now will you tell you why this was fun?" he grumbled.

You shook your head. "Not yet," you replied with a smirk.

He sighed, and looked put-upon. "Then shall we? I wish for us not to be late," you nodded and he stood from the chair. He kissed your hand again before you went downstairs. There was a large group of supers were hanging out in the livingroom when you came down. All of them looked you over and catcalled and cheered and generally made themselves loud and annoying at your expense. "What is the meaning of that?" Loki whispered in your ear as you waved to them.

"They think we're attractive and cute together," you explained. "It is not a polite way to say that, but they're kids and family, so they can get away with it," you added before he thought that was how things were done on Earth.

Your next stop on the date was the movie theater, the fancy one in the middle of town. You were way overdressed for it, but that somehow only added to the fun. Loki got stares, curious looks, and whispers as you entered the theater and you couldn't help giggling. He had gotten you tickets to the new Loki movie, so he would find out soon enough. "Why are they staring?" he whispered in your ear.

You grinned up at him. "You'll find out," you replied unhelpfully. Loki huffed, which made the fangirls squeal even more at his grumpy expression. "They think you're attractive," you told him, hoping that would mellow him out for a little while.

"That cannot be the only reason they are acting like this," he protested too knowingly. You didn't disagree with him, but you weren't telling him your secret either. It was too much fun.

You picked out seats in the theater and Loki let you choose wherever you wanted. You explained the science of the perfect seat to him and you took the seats you found. There were more stares and giggles and comments, mostly from the fangirls.

Except when one little kid got up the courage to come up to Loki.Loki raised an eyebrow at the child approaching him."Excuse me?" the child asked in the tiniest politest voice ever. "Are you Loki?" he asked, bravely for such a small child.

Loki smiled warmly.No matter how standoffish he appeared, he would be polite to children."Yes, I am," he replied. You could tell he was confused, but he wouldn't be mean to the child. The child held up a piece of paper and a pen.

"Can I have your autograph?" he asked, excited and started babbling about something related to the movies.

Loki turned to you, clearly confused and not wanting to upset the child.”What is an autograph?" Loki asked you softly.

"He wants you to sign your name. People like getting signatures from famous people as proof that they met the famous person." you explained to Loki in a way he’d understand. You turned to the child. "I'm sorry, he's a bit confused. He hasn't been on Earth for very long, you see." The kid nodded in complete understanding and said something about Asgard being different. Loki signed the piece of paper and the kid thanked him and rushed back to his parents.

The movie started soon after and you held Loki's hand through it. It was nice to be out with him in a nice, normal setting. When it got to the scene that he was dressed from, he turned to you and you heard his laughter magically in your ear. Even then, he was fighting not to laugh out loud and draw more attention to you. He had instantly known why this was fun and why everyone had been staring and whispering about him. You grinned at him innocently. "I love you, my mischievous darling," he whispered in your ear. You could only smile in return and you enjoyed the rest of the movie together.

After the movie ended, he took you out to a really nice dinner, at one of the fanciest restaurants in town. He was still getting attention for his appearance, but he lived it up now that he was in on the joke. He had gotten the actor's expressions down, and used some of them on fangirls who stared too long at him, listening for their excited squeals. He was having as much fun with it as you were. Once, when there were too many fangirls, he pulled you to him and gave you a long lingering kiss that made them equal parts squealy and jealous. It was fantastic fun. He did behave in the restaurant, though you saw it was hard, since you were still getting looks.

It was a little sad when the dinner and therefore the date was over, but it had been so much fun that you weren't likely to forget it anytime soon. Especially since Loki had used magic to get some really good pictures of the pair of you together.

Especially that amazing kiss.


	20. Chapter 20

“Y/N KATHRYN STARK!” you heard your named bellowed the next morning. You and Loki were sitting on your couch in the common room minding your own business and actually not causing trouble. It was an impressively quiet morning around the tower.Until Tony started bellowing anyway.

You looked up from your laptop, on which you were supposed to be writing an essay that was due Monday, but instead you were posting the pictures of yourself and Loki from yesterday on social media. Loki had taken a bunch of pictures yesterday, so the upload was taking awhile, but that couldn’t have anything to do with Tony’s anger. You quickly thought over everything you had done recently, but couldn’t think of anything you’d done that would upset Tony.At least not that much.

“What’s wrong, Uncle Tony?” you asked, really having no idea this time why he was so pissed.

He glared at you as if you should know why he was angry. “WHY ARE YOU ON THE NEWS?” he demanded, still roaring.

You just stared at him, shocked.You weren’t concerned over his roaring or anger, especially not after he’d accidentally thrown you into a wall. He wasn’t going to risk your safety again anytime soon after that. 

“I’m on the news?” you asked dumbly. That was the only reaction you could think of to that accusation. You hadn’t done anything worthy of getting on the news for. 

Tony grabbed the remote and smashed buttons until the local news came on. You stared at it in shock. They were showing images and a short clip of you and Loki on your date yesterday.

Oops.

You knew you were a celebrity, but you forgot that led to being on TV on occasion.

“WHY IS HE KISSING YOU ON TV?” Tony roared, as they showed the image of you kissing in front of all the fangirls. You blushed and looked away from him. “WHY THE HELL IS HE KISSING YOU AT ALL?”

You rolled your eyes at that.Even Tony couldn’t be that oblivious. “He’s my boyfriend. Kisses _do_ kind of come with the territory,” you replied with snark and sarcasm in your voice. It wasn’t _your_ fault your dumb uncle hadn’t realized that you and Loki were officially an item.

The news reporter drew your attention as he was talking about how local celebrity niece of the infamous Ironman, appeared to now be dating Tom Hiddleston, famous actor who played the character Loki in all of the Avengers movies. “Their info is wrong anyway. Someone will rectify it eventually,” you shrugged. You weren’t concerned.Hiddleston’s publicity team wouldn’t let the mistake go on for long. “Calm down, Uncle Tony. It’ll blow over in a few days. Go do something heroic and it’ll go away faster. I’m not nearly as interesting as you are,” you reminded him and the rest of the supers in the room laughed and cheered in general agreement that they’d take down a bunch of villains so you’d be out of the news again sooner. You couldn’t help laughing at them.The younger supers were always so enthusiastic.

You were recognizable especially since Ironman and all of the Avengers were so famous, even the younger supers who lived here after magic exploded across the world.They did save the world, and especially New York, all the time.Since Tony was one of the few supers whose secret identify was compromised, you ended up being a topic of celebrity gossip too. It was an occupational hazard of being a Stark. You were usually boring, so you didn’t end up in the news often, but it happened on occasion, especially when there wasn’t much news. Your hair was a hindrance since it was so distinctively colored, which is why you had tried dying it last year. That hadn’t ended well.

You went back to work on your laptop, ignoring Tony’s spluttering. He growled about it awhile longer, but the story went away quickly when the press was notified that the person you were kissing was in fact _not_ Tom Hiddleston. Duh. Tom didn’t have Loki’s hair unless he was filming.The news people claimed they were going to try to find out who the mysterious Tom Hiddleston look-alike was, and the story blew over from there.

Tony finally calmed down, and even seemed to accept that you were dating Loki, though he didn’t seem to like it. You figured it was just because he was your uncle and legal guardian.

*

The rest of the week was fairly quiet. You went to school with Loki every day. He sent you notes during classes all day and was generally adorable. You had combat training every day, and you were getting better with the dagger as well as with hand-to-hand fighting. Loki was even teaching you how to speak with him telepathically. It wasn’t perfect, since you were a human without magic, but he taught you meditation and how to order your mind. He could speak to you with his own telepathy and if you thought about your response in a focused manner, he could hear the reply. He taught you how to put up boundaries on thoughts and memories you didn’t want him to overhear and you trusted absolutely that he wouldn’t invade your privacy.You didn’t master it in a week, or course, it would always be a work in process, since you didn’t have powers, but you made headway. It made it a lot easier to talk to him when he was guarding you.

Tony took you out for breakfast on the morning of your birthday. He took you to the same restaurant every year, which was adorable and showed he cared. You also went to the arcade and the indoor amusement park in the mall, which was also tradition. You had a feeling Loki was sad that he couldn’t spend the entire day with you, but he was glad you were enjoying the day with your uncle. He would see you that evening for your party.

Your birthday was also one of the days each year that you went to the cemetery to visit your parents. You brought flowers to their grave and told them everything you had been up to since the last time you had been to visit. Tony stood nearby, but out of earshot. This was another tradition. You couldn’t actually talk to your parents anymore, or get advice from them, but you liked thinking that they were watching over you, and it made you feel better to talk to their graves, talk to them like they could hear and answer. So you told them all about Loki and how much fun you were having. You told your mom how you had chosen to date your best friend, just like she always said you should. You told your dad how he was a perfect gentleman and how he would be able to find no fault in Loki’s behavior towards you. You told them both that you were careful, even living with the supers, and how much you loved them and you would try to come visit them again soon. You promised to bring Loki to come meet them, so they could interrogate him for themselves.

With bittersweet tears, you went to Tony’s spot. He wrapped you in a hug. “You ok, kid?” he asked as he hugged you too tightly. This was hard for him too, though he held it together better for your sake.

You nodded against his chest.Tony wasn’t big on hugs, but he made an exception for you.Especially today.

“I just miss them,” you told him, rubbing the tears from your eyes. He kissed the top of your head.

“I know. I do too,” he held you for another minute. “Do you mind if you tell them goodbye?” he asked. You shook your head and waited for him to say a few words to their graves. He didn’t talk to them like you did, but he always said something before you left. Your dad was his brother after all, you weren’t surprised he missed them too. 

You felt phantom arms wrap around you while you watched Tony. The arms were cool, just like their owner. You weren’t surprised he had found out what you were up to.“Thank you, Loki,” you whispered, knowing his touch even when he wasn’t really there. “I’m ok. I’ll see you soon.” He was too far to talk to you telepathically safely, apparently he risked hurting you if he used to much power to make the connection, so he didn’t do it unless you were in fairly close proximity already.

Tony took you for ice cream to try make you smile again before you went back to the tower to spend the evening with your super family.

Loki hugged you the second you walked through the door of the tower. “Are you ok?” he asked, concerned. “You were crying,” he whispered in your ear.He didn’t usually spy, but he must’ve felt your emotions leak through.

“We went to visit my parents,” you explained softly. He nodded his understanding and pressed a kiss to your hair, comforting you. 

Almost immediately afterwards, the festivities began. There was a huge sign reading “Happy 18th Birthday!” And stupid party hats all around.There was cake, pizza, and even more ice cream. All of the supers stopped by to wish you a happy birthday and add their donations to the huge pile of presents in front of you. You opened them to find mostly books, which you thanked everyone for.Though Nat got you a new taser, Clint decided you needed a bow and arrow set that you’d never use, Bruce got you some scary book about science he insisted helped him through med school.The original Avengers tried their best, even though you rarely saw them. 

The last present came from Loki. The tiny familiar teal box appeared in his hand. You had seen your dad give your mom gifts in those boxes all the time growing up. There was only one store in the universe you knew of that used that particular shade of blue in their gift wrapping. And no way that Loki should have been able to afford anything from there.“Happy birthday, darling,” he told you.

You took the box from him, surprised. “Thank you,” you replied automatically. You opened the box to find a gorgeous silver bracelet with black and green gems in it. There was also a gift receipt in the box, showing that Loki had actually bought the bracelet instead of conjuring it. You wouldn’t have minded if he conjured it, but you knew it was extra special to him for actually buying it. He had gone and done the thing the Midgardian way.“It’s gorgeous,” you told him as you pulled the bracelet out of the box and clasped it around your wrist. “I love it!” you jumped up and hugged him, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck. “And I love you,” you whispered in his ear. You hadn’t been brave enough to say the words until then.

“You are most welcome, my darling,” he replied. You kissed him deeply to catcalls from your family.

“Come on! Time for movies!” one of the teens called. You relocated the party to the common room where the movie was already set up.

“Sorry,” you told Loki. “It’s tradition. Superhero Musical followed by the first Avengers movie.” He smiled.

“That is nothing to be sorry for. They love you, my dear, and want to spend time with you, as do I,” you grinned and sat on the loveseat with Loki, in the place of honor directly in front of the TV. You sang your way through the musical with your friends and family around you. Loki even tried to join in for the duet, but he hadn’t memorized all of the words yet. You applauded him for trying, though.

Part of the way through the Avengers movie, Wanda, who had the remote, paused the movie and looked directly at Loki. The heads of everyone else turned to him as well. “Why are they staring at me?” Loki asked you.

You erupted into laughter. “They want you to say the line,” you explained. You weren’t surprised this was happening, especially after the news story everyone saw confusing him for the actor in the movie.

“Say the line!” the supers called. “Say the line! Say the line! Say the line!” the words became a chant. You laughed even harder.

“They’re not going to stop until you say the line,” you told Loki over the chanting. He sighed and rolled his eyes. With his put-upon expression he held up a hand to quiet the chant. The room fell silent immediately.

“I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose,” he intoned in the most dull dry monotone possible. The crowd groaned at him and started throwing popcorn and other small harmless object at him. You shrieked and held your arms up in front of you to deflect the projectiles. Not everyone had good aim and didn’t care if they hit you in collateral damage.

“Do it right!” they complained.

He sighed again, but you saw the glint in his eyes. He was pleased and enjoying himself. He held up his hand again. He stood, and then stepped up onto the coffee table. In the same movement, his clothing changed to an exact replica of the character’s including the golden horned helmet. 

“I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. Kneel before me,” he hesitated for a moment. “I said KNEEL!” he bellowed. You burst out laughing at the cheers of the crowd. A few of them actually knelt, while the rest applauded his rendition. Loki rejoined you on the couch, not bothering to change his clothes back to normal. You laughed and leaned over to give him a kiss.

After the movie, Loki walked you up to your suite. After you’d hugged your friends and your uncle one last time and thanked them all for a wonderful birthday. “I have one other gift for you, darling. Though I did not wish to give it to you in front of the others,” Loki told you when you were safely away from the others.

“Loki, you shouldn’t have,” you chided him. He had already done enough by getting you the bracelet. You knew it couldn’t have been cheap, not when it came from _that_ jewelry store.

He moved his hands and a box appeared in them, despite your protests.He wasn’t going to give up no matter what you did, so you took the box and opened it to find a leather dagger sheath.An empty leather dagger sheath.That seemed like a strange gift and you raised an eyebrow at Loki when you looked up at him.

“It is enchanted,” he explained. “Anytime you reach for a dagger from it, one will be there. You need never be without a weapon again,” he added. 

“Thank you.That’s amazing!” you told him. You tried it, attempting to pull a dagger from the empty sheath. One appeared and you were able to pull it from the sheath. You wondered how much work had gone in to making such a thing, but you had a feeling you would never find out. That didn’t make it any less fantastic. 

You felt a lot safer knowing you’d always have a weapon.

“Did you have a good birthday?” he asked you once you were curled up on the couch in your sittingroom together. You nodded.

“It was perfect,” you replied.

You got to spend the last moments of the day enjoying kisses from your boyfriend.

 


	21. Chapter 21

A couple of quiet weeks later, Fury came to bother you while you were sitting on the couch in the common room with a book. “Kat, we’ve got some new recruits. Do you mind helping us out in the training room?” he asked.You remembered that there had been some new super teens who moved into the tower.It was teens who were most likely to gain powers after magic exploded into the world again. 

Fury liked having you work with the newbies.They tended to get confused when you didn’t do what they were expecting you to do and, instead, acted like a victim actually does when they’re being rescued.You tended to do things like run the wrong way, burst into hysterical tears and not move, or grab the nearest item to try to help.The rookies learned a valuable lesson, you had fun, and everyone won.

“Not at all. I’ll be right there,” you replied brightly.You had fun messing with the newbies.Probably a bit too much fun if you were being honest.Fury nodded and went back to his newbies to get them ready.

You looked over at Loki who grinned, knowing exactly what you’d be up to, since he’d been training you for this. “Show them what you’ve learned, darling,” he bid you and stood to come along.Of course he wanted to watch. You were wearing jeans and a t-shirt, an outfit that was just fine for this exercise. Your magical dagger sheath was secured at the small of your back, where you usually kept it. Loki didn’t like you to not have it, even in the tower. 

You did take your bracelet off and handed it to Loki.“Can you put this in my jewelry box? I don’t want anything to happen to it,” you asked him. You knew the bracelet was delicate and expensive and you didn’t want anything to happen to it.You were a lot more comfortable asking for small magics over the last couple of weeks, since Loki had finally convinced you that they were no trouble at all.

The bracelet vanished. You wore it nearly all the time, so you felt kind of naked without it. You didn’t want anything to happen to it, though. “Thank you,” you said when the bracelet had vanished from his hand.

You walked together to the training room, waving to supers as you went. Loki took a seat on the sidelines to watch. There was a group of young teens standing in one corner being addressed by Fury. You walked over to them. “This is your helpless victim,” Fury told them, gesturing to you. You smiled, this was going to be fun. “Clint and his team will play the villains trying to kidnap her. You are to stop them from doing so. Kat, get into position,” he told you without more direction than that.You didn’t need more direction. You’d done this a lot over the last few years. You nodded and took your usual spot about halfway between the two groups.

Fury stepped off of the floor and the match began. The villains were wearing literal black hats. It was a running joke, but made for good identification during the matches. They came up to you and Clint grabbed you. The kids came running up from the other side, but they were unorganized and weren’t going to be very effective.At all.

Self-rescuing princess time.

You pulled a dagger from the sheath at your back in a well-practiced movement and held it to Clint’s throat. He let you go in surprise. You pulled three more daggers in fast succession, throwing them with hard earned precision at the rest of the team. The kids just stood there shocked while you fought the supers on your own, holding them off with the skills you had honed over the last few months working every day with Loki.

Fury was laughing his head off at the confusion on both sides. “Enough!” he finally bellowed. You dropped your latest dagger and held up your hands. Everyone else was holding up theirs as well, acknowledging that the battle was over. “Peter, report. What have you learned?” Fury asked the leader of the kids’ team.Peter didn’t live full-time with the team, he lived with his aunt nearby, but he’d been on more missions than most of them, since he’d had his powers before magic exploded in the world.

“Never mess with Kat?” he asked with a grin. That earned him a laugh from his friends, but a glare from Fury.

“While that is correct, that’s not the answer we’re looking for. Gail,” he picked on one of the girls, calling on her to answer next.

“Victims may not act the way you expect,” she answered obediently.You had a feeling she’d heard tales from the other supers about your lack of cooperation during training.

“Correct. Whatever the victim does, you must be prepared for. Don’t let her actions distract you from your mission,” Fury lectured them. They all looked in awe of the lesson and shamed at the same time for not doing it well the first time. Fury turned to Clint next. “And what have you learned?” he asked. Clint’s team was made up of all adults, well trained fighters.They’d either been supers in hiding from before magic came back to the world, or had been among the first to gain powers.Or in Clint’s case was one of the original six Avengers.

“Not to mess with Kat,” he chuckled, giving you a small bow. You laughed at that and nodded your head in a return bow to him. He sobered quickly and gave his real answer. “Just because we don’t use deadly force on humans doesn’t mean our opponents will hold to the same constraints,”

“Correct. You must be able to cope with the different motivations of your opponents,” he told them. “Again,” he ordered. You all went back to your spots and the drill started again. Clint was more wary of you this time. The rest of his team wasn’t. However, the kids got to you before Clint’s team this time. So you crumpled to your knees and started ‘crying’ hysterically, clutching on to whichever kid you could and generally being a nuisance and not helping. In the end, your hindrance broke the kids’ plan. Clint threw you over his shoulder and started walking calmly off the practice court.

“Enough!” Fury yelled. Clint set you back on your feet gently.

“You ok?” he asked, making sure you hadn’t gotten hurt somehow. Everyone was wary about hurting the girl without powers. You nodded and reassured him quickly.

“Peter, what is the lesson?” Fury demanded.

“She helped us last time!” Peter whined. You tried not to laugh at him.Poor kid was about to get his ass chewed. “We thought she’d help us again!!” he whined more as if that would help him. 

“Don’t expect the victim to help you!” Fury yelled, sounding like a drill Sargent. His roar was impressive when he felt like using it.And he felt like it then to make his point.“Most of the time, they will do what she did. They will cry and not help you. Reset. Again,” he ordered and you all went back to your spots.

/Your turn/ you thought at Loki. He didn’t make any movement or reaction, but you felt the change in his attention.

The scenario started again. Clint’s team came up on you, beating the kids to you this time. “HELP!” you shrieked in you best damsel in distress voice. It was the ear-splitting scream of a horror movie victim. 

Loki teleported into the ring, standing in front of you defensively. You watched the amazing battle of illusions, daggers, and magic bolts thrown at Clint’s team. He was pulling his punches, though, dazing them instead of hurting them. Once they were all disabled, he turned to you and gave you a very thorough kiss.

“Enough, you two,” Fury groaned. “Lesson, Clint?” Fury demanded while Clint groaned back to his feet.

“Don’t mess with Kat,” he said again with a smirk when he was standing. You laughed and stuck your tongue out at him. He chuckled. “Be aware of connections and relationships. A sensible villain won’t go after a well protected target,”

“Again. Kat, defend yourself. Loki, sit this one out,” Fury ordered. You nodded and the scene was reset yet again.

The battle began and you realized that you were on your own. You don’t know what signal Fury had given to the kids, but they weren’t helping. This was going to end poorly. You threw daggers and tried to keep your opponents distracted, but you could only manage so long. They weren’t surprised anymore by your ability, which wasn’t that good yet after only a couple of months. You tried to move around the field, but one of them had covered the arena in ice. You would lose your footing if you moved too much. You planted your feet and called for help, but none came. Clint stomped over. You managed to keep him at bay with daggers and he went skidding away with a well-timed throw. He’d had to dodge it dramatically and got caught on the ice.

You shrieked in pain when Electron, a super with electricity powers like Thor’s, got his hands on you. He forgot to pull his attack and you were hit full blast with his lightning. There was a hand-shaped burn on your arm from where he had grabbed you.

“Stop!” Fury shouted while you shrieked in pain, cradling your arm safely.

“Kat! I’m sorry!” Electron apologized as Loki rushed over. You were already on the ground, crying in pain. Loki knelt down next to you and placed his cold hand on the wound. You sighed in relief as Loki’s healing powers eased the pain quickly.

“Shh, love. It’s ok. You’ll be alright,” he promised. He healed the wound quickly, but you were still shaky and let him hold onto you for awhile longer.

“Kat! Are you ok? I’m so sorry,” Electron said again. You looked up at him and gave him a smile.

“I’m fine,” you reassured him. “It was an accident.”You added that last part for Loki’s benefit as much as Electron’s.You didn’t want him hurt for accidentally hurting you.

“Where are the lessons, here?” Fury demanded once Loki helped you shakily back to your feet.

“I’m still just human,” you replied dejectedly, your voice shaky.

“Yes. It’s not a bad thing that you’re learning to protect yourself, but don’t get cocky. You will always be at the disadvantage against supers,” Fury told you. He turned to Electron. “And you?”

“Don’t mess with Kat,” he gave you a tentative smile at the joke of the day.“Even a human can be difficult to take down, but doesn’t mean we can lose control of our powers to take them down,” he answered more formally.Fury nodded.

“Kat, you and Loki are dismissed. Thank you for your help today,” you nodded and let Loki steer you from the room. You were exhausted and still shaky, so you didn’t argue when he led you upstairs.

“Darling, are you sure you are alright?” he asked, concerned.

“That was just a lot of electricity,” you murmured. “Powerless humans are not meant to be lightning rods,” you grumbled.

“I understand that more than anyone with the thunder god for an idiot brother,” he commiserated.He swept you up into his arms and for once you didn’t protest. Even with healing you were shaken. “Come along, love, let’s get you to bed,” he said softly, gently. You could hear the concern in his voice.

“I’ll be fine, Loki,” you promised, though you doubted he believed you.He put you to bed and tucked you in. “I’ll be fine, especially after a nap,” you repeated. “Wake me before you go on patrol?” you asked. He’d actually gotten an assignment other than guarding you. 

Loki was rummaging in your jewelry box. He came back to you a moment later and clasped the bracelet back around your wrist where it usually lived. You smiled up at him in thanks.“Of course you will, now get some rest,” he bid you warmly.

*

A few hours later, you woke starving, but otherwise feeling much better. Loki was sitting in your recliner with a book. You smiled over at him. “Keeping vigil again?” you asked with a smile.

“Of course, my dear.” Your stomach growled and Loki chuckled. He offered you a hand and pulled you to your feet. You giggled at him and you went downstairs together to see what Helene had made for dinner. “I’m sorry I have to leave you,” he told you once you had finished eating.

“It’s alright, you have to work,” you replied with a warm smile.

“Come on, Reindeer Games,” Tony growled from the doorway impatiently.“You aren’t even dressed yet. We have to get out there for patrol.”

“I’ll get the dishes, you guys go on,” you told them. Tony gave you a hug and Loki gave you a kiss before they left on their patrol. You hoped neither of them would kill the other while they were out there.

It was lonely in the compound that night.Everyone was out on patrol, including your boyfriend. You had forgotten how lonely your life had been before him. You sat on our couch reading while you waited for them to get home. You left the news on in the background, praying you wouldn’t hear about an attack and they’d all get home safely.

It was around 3am when they finally returned. You ran to the door to greet them, so glad they came back safely. They both looked unscathed and they hadn’t killed each other.It was a successful night.

“Your boyfriend is annoying,” Tony grumped at you before he went up to bed.

You laughed. “What’d you do to him?” you asked Loki while the two of you walked up the stairs to your own rooms.

“I did nothing to him,” Loki replied with a smirk. “He was displeased that I teleported some robbers to the police instead of letting him punch them,” he shrugged. “I do not know why that is. It was much easier my way.” You laughed at that.

“I’m just glad you’re ok. I worry about you when you’re out on patrol,” you reminded him.

“And I worry over you when you are here alone,”

*

A couple weeks later, you and Loki were out on a date. The next installment of the Avengers movies had come to theaters and you had both wanted to see it. Loki even wore the full Loki costume for the occasion, including the helmet. They were introducing a new character this film, so you actually got to dress up too. The new character was Sigyn, Loki’s wife. She was in the ads for the movie, so Loki could recreate her costume for you.

You tried not to think too hard about how the character looked almost identical to you.

“Look! It’s Loki!” fangirls and kids all called as you walked into the theater. You had a lot of fun signing autographs for the kids. They kept asking you where the rest of the team members were from the movie and you had to remind them that the team was spread out among different theaters. The movie was fantastic as always, as was dinner afterwards, which you had at a slightly more casual restaurant, so you could go in costume. You got more attention there and had to take selfies with all sorts of fans.

It was on your walk back to where you had parked your car that you met up with some of The Harlequin’s clowns. There were only two of them, thankfully. They approached and through their laughing you deciphered that they were demanding that Loki hand you over. As if that were going to happen.“Are you up to this?” Loki asked as they came toward you, laughing psychotically. You nodded and pulled a dagger from the sheath you wore on your wrist instead of the small of your back that night. “I can send you home,” he added in case you weren’t confident.

“If we can’t handle two clowns...” you grumbled at him.

He smiled proudly. “If you are injured, you shall be quite cross with you,” he told me.

“I expect nothing less,” you replied with a smirk.

The fight was over in less than a minute. Loki bound one up in magic. You fought the other with your dagger, which was not an easy feat in a long dress, but you managed and subdued the crazy laughing clown. You called for backup and they came quickly to collect the clowns.

After that incident, when it was clear that The Harlequin still wanted you for some reason, Loki was pulled from patrol and put back on guard duty. Neither of you minded in the least.


	22. Chapter 22

Things were fairly quiet until Fury came to talk to all of the supers (and you) one morning in March. “Listen up! This is a reminder that the producers from the Avengers movies will be on campus shooting their next film, starting today. This place will be crawling with actors, cameras, and all sorts of crap we usually don’t have to deal with.”Fury and the team let them film pieces of the movies at the tower, provided they didn’t interfere with their operations and only filmed anyone from the tower with permission and only when that person was in costume. They let you be extras and side characters occasionally, and sometimes the supers even used their powers on film to cut down on the CGI budget.You were sure Fury got something out of this, but he never said what it was. “They won’t be in the building except during scheduled times, which you’ll have plenty of notice about. Any time you go outside, you must be in costume. I don’t want anyone’s secret identities compromised. Ironman, Loki, Kat, you’re excused from that of course.” Tony’s secret identity had already been compromised, everyone knew who you were thanks to Tony, and Loki didn’t have a secret identity, nor did he care to.

Loki took you out that day to a matinee ballet. He wore his perfect all-black suit again and convinced you to wear the green dress he had gotten you. It was still just cool enough to wear it. The ballet was amazing, you couldn’t believe how effortless they made dancing on their toes look.

You were walking back to the compound from the parking lot when you were stopped by the film crew. That wasn’t atypical, they would reroute people who were in jeopardy of getting in the way of their shots.“Tom! Good! You’re already in costume, come on, your scene is up!” one of the producers got ahold of Loki and led him towards the cameras and the set that had been set up on your property.

Apparently, they had gotten Loki confused with his actor. Loki looked over at you apologetically, but let them lead him away, unwilling to harm the mortals. You followed as far as you could. You had a feeling this was going to be fun.

/How long before they figure out you’re not Tom?/ you thought at him. He turned to you with a glint in his eye and a smirk. He was going to keep the game up as long as possible.

They actually ran a few takes of the scene (how Loki knew the lines you didn’t know) before the real Tom showed up between takes. He walked straight over to Loki, thinking he was a stunt double. They were both wearing the infamous black suit of sexy. No wonder the film crew had gotten confused.They looked at each other and both started laughing after a moment when they figured out what was going on. One of them went back to doing takes of the scene, the other came over to stand with you and watch. He put his arm around you gently.

You looked up and laughed. “You’re not Loki,” you told him softly. It was Tom, the actor, not your boyfriend. You knew the difference immediately.Tom was warm where Loki ran cold due to his heritage. 

Tom laughed and held his hands up in surrender.“I apologize for touching you without permission. Loki said you would find it amusing,” he explained immediately. He was a perfect gentleman after all.His accent wasn’t quite as honey sounding as Loki’s most of the time, but it was really close. They also looked nearly identical.

“It’s alright. Loki was right. It was amusing,” you replied with a warm smile. It was a fun joke. “I’m sorry about him. They thought he was you and dragged him over to do the scene. Since then...” you shrugged as if that were enough explanation. “I think he’s trying to see how long it will take them to figure out that he’s not you,”

“You’re the only one who’s noticed so far. I’m disappointed in Chris. We’ve done _how_ many movies together? He should know better.” Tom sighed in exasperation at his coworker.Chris was the actor who played Thor. It took a few more scenes before Chris finally _did_ figure out that Loki wasn’t Tom.

“Who are you?” he boomed in his Thor voice. “You’re not Tom!” he accused, probably thinking Loki was a stunt double.

Loki did the character’s head bow and held up his hands in surrender with his trademark smirk.

“Game’s over,” Tom said sadly. “It was a fun game too. Thank you for keeping you company, Miss -?” he asked politely, though of course he knew who you were.

“Y/N Stark,” you filled in, just as politely.You could play the game to let him properly introduce yourselves.“Trade you autographs?” you asked with a grin. He chuckled and you _did_ exchange autographs.

“I best go rescue Loki and do my job,” he said once the autographs had been exchanged. Chris was still shouting, but it was in fun and the crew was laughing at Loki’s antics since he was showing them some magic tricks. Loki and Tom posed for pictures before work began again. The crew let you stick around and watch the taping, which was a lot of fun, especially since you got to meet and hang out with the other actors as well.

Tom came back over to you on a break between scenes. Loki summoned him a cup of tea, which Tom accepted with appreciation. “Do you two want to pretend to be me and Kelly for the next scene?” he asked while he sat with you and enjoyed his tea. Kelly was the one playing Sigyn, Loki’s romantic interest.

“Won’t the production crew get mad about being tricked twice in one day?” you asked. You were also really recognizable.

Tom shook his head.“Not on this one. You’re a dead ringer for Kelly in costume. I think the designers used you as inspiration for the character design. Trust me, this scene will be perfect for you two,” Tom said with a grin. It was far too close to Loki’s Cheshire Cat grin.You were quickly finding that he could be just as mischievous as his character. You and Loki agreed to try it and Tom went off to have a word with Kelly. She grinned and gave you a thumbs up. She came over to sit with you until the break was over.

“Tom! Kelly! You’re up!” the director called. Loki took your hand and the two of you went over instead of the actual actors. You were nervous about this trick, sure you were going to be caught. It seemed too important for you to be playing around with. You weren’t an actress, and didn’t know Kelly’s lines or anything.

You shouldn’t have bothered worrying. The entire scene was you running to Loki and him kissing you deeply. It took a couple takes to get it just right, but the kiss was a really good one and the director seem pleased, until he realized that neither of you were his actors.

“Tom!” he yelled, mock-glaring over at Tom and Kelly who were drinking tea and watching the fun. “He’s doing your job better than you are!” he called, laughing. The entire crew started laughing again.

“But they’re already dating. I figured they could do the kiss scene justice,” Tom replied innocently as he came over. He looked you over. “Great job, by the way,” he told you. “Are you going to the comic con tomorrow?” You shook your head while Loki just looked confused. Tom handed you two passes he just happened to be carrying. “Come in costume to Hall H at noon. I promise you some fun,” he told you, which was all the enticement Loki needed to go to the event.

“What is a comic con?” Loki asked as you finally walked into the compound.

“People dress up as comic book and movie characters. There’s shops and talks about the comics,” you tried to explain.It was an experience one kinda had to go to in order to understand it. 

“It sounds like fun. We should attend,” Loki replied.He just wanted to see what Tom had up his sleeve, but he would enjoy the rest of the con as well.

“You’ll have to make our costumes,” you reminded him. He nodded. That was no big deal for him.

*

The next day you went to the convention in full costume. The same costumes you’d been in for the movie. You found Tom and Kelly in costume in Hall H just before noon. “You made it!” Tom lit up in excitement. He handed Loki a sheet of paper while Kelly handed one to you. Both of them were grinning. “Here are your lines. You’ll get the cues from Mark there,” he pointed at one of the guys at the presenter’s table. You looked over at Loki and both of you exchanged a glance wondering what you had gotten yourselves into. “We have parts to play too,” Tom reassured you. They went to go get ready for their parts while you read over you part and grinned.

This would be fun, indeed.

You stood off stage while the crowd filed in to the conference hall. You were nervous, and kept clutching on to Loki’s hand. “You’ll be fine, love. This is just for fun,” he reminded you. “There is no reason to be nervous.” You wished you believed him, but you didn’t want to mess this up. There were lots of fans counting on you and you really weren’t an actress.Loki was the one with the flair for drama.

The presenter started his speech about the Avengers movies and how well they did and all sorts of nonsense to talk about the new movie coming out.“We are currently in production on the latest installment-” The lights suddenly went out. That was Loki’s cue. He walked out onto the stage to begin his own speech.

“People of New York, look how far you have fallen!” He announced. “Look how you huddle, scared in the dark, waiting for your saviors to come. They are not coming to rescue you this day. All you have is me!” The lights came back on to reveal Loki standing in the middle of the stage. The crowd roared. “I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose. Swear loyalty to me, swear your city over to me, and you shall live in riches in my kingdom. Kneel to your overlord!” he boomed. You saw his expression that he was enjoying every moment of this. “I said KNEEL~!” He used magic to amplify his voice even more than the room should have allowed. At once the cheering roaring crowd dropped to their knees in front of him.

That was your cue. You straightened your spine, gathered your courage, and stormed out onto the stage. “LOKI!” you shouted as you stomped toward him. He looked over at you, shocked and acting sheepish and embarrassed. He gave you an elegant bow while the crowd called:

“Sigyn!”

You raised a hand to them and they fell silent at once. “Are you pretending to rule these mortals again?” you demanded of Loki.

“Of course not, my love!” he protested, rising from his bow and trying to look innocent. “I would not!”

You looked out at the crowd, glad that you was blinded by the lights and couldn’t actually see them. “Was he, dear mortals?” you asked them, calmly, sweetly, gently. They roared in cheers and applause. “There is my answer, Loki,” you replied, turning back to him.

“But, darling~” he started. You glared, your hands on your hips.The perfect picture of an insulted angry wife.

“Don’t you ‘darling’ me, Loki Odinson,” Loki went by Odinson to get the people to accept him if nothing else.“Back home with you, now!” you ordered, pointing off stage.

“My love, they need someone to rule over them!” he protested. You snapped your fingers and pointed again off stage.

“Be gone with you. They shall have their ruler,” you turned back to the crowd. “Won’t you, my dears?” They all roared in applause while Loki skulked off toward off stage, his head hung in shame.

“IMPOSTERS!” Came a roar from the crowd. The lights changed and a spotlight appeared on Tom and Kelly, who stormed up towards the stage from the back of the auditorium. There were even more cheers from the crowd as they realized what was going on.“Foolish mortals allowing yourselves to be tricked by such amateurs. I am your God. The true Loki of Asgard and you shall kneel before me!” Loki took your hand and teleported you off stage where you could watch the rest of the act from the sidelines. At the end, a trailer for the new movie was shown, and you andLoki were brought back out on stage to bow to cheers from the crowd.

“That was a lot of fun,” you told Tom and Kelly after the event, once the audience had cleared. “Thank you for letting us do it,” they both smiled and said how it had been partially the director’s idea. He thought it would be good publicity. You ended up getting Tom’s and Kelly’s phone numbers and friending them on social media, promising that you’d keep in touch, especially through their production of the new movie on location. They were great fun to be around.You found you couldn’t be terribly surprised that you’d become fast friends with them already.


	23. Chapter 23

You woke screaming in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, from nightmares of fire and death, and more pain to come. Nightmares of your parents and bullet wounds.Nightmares of smoke. 

Loki came bursting in from his room, too startled by your screams to use magic to reach you. He found you sobbing in the middle of your bed, curled in a tight ball, shaking from the nightmares. You couldn’t shake the horrors you had seen and relived. It had been worse this time. You had been trapped and dying in the fire and you felt every moment of it all over again.

Loki crawled onto your bed and pulled you into his arms. You didn’t resist him, but relished the chill of his body, focusing on that while you tried to stifle your sobs.Loki’s cool skin was a sharp contrast from the memories of the fire and helped to ground you in reality.

“I’m here, darling. You’re safe. It’s ok,” he promised while he held you. You were still seeing the images and feeling the fire. You couldn’t get it out of your head. You clutched on to him and tried to get the words out. Tried to explain that you were somehow still halfway trapped in the nightmare. Loki, your amazing, wonderful Loki, seemed to understand, though. He held glowing fingertips to your temples. “Let me in, love. Let me see, please, let me help,” he whispered. He was asking for a lot of trust and he knew yet.

All you could do was nod. You felt his presence in your mind. It was a strange feeling, but as usual, he was a perfect gentleman and did not venture where he wasn’t allowed, didn’t try to pry. Somehow he shielded you so you didn’t have to see those images anymore, at least not tonight. You didn’t hold it against him that he watched your terrible memories of that night.He couldn’t help seeing, not with what he was doing to help you.

A moment later, he was out of your head, and you could finally collect yourself and stop sobbing.

“Thank you,” you murmured hoarsely, slumping in his arms. He didn’t respond, which was strange for him. You moved enough that you could look up at him. “What’s wrong?” you asked him gently.You saw the look in his eyes.He was focused on his thoughts.

“Those memories aren’t real,” he told you finally, his voice was as distant as his eyes. 

“What do you mean?” you asked softly, keeping your voice carefully calm. He would talk without censoring his answers if you didn’t startle him out of his thoughts.

“Someone has tampered with them. Someone with extraordinary telepathic abilities. I would have noticed before now otherwise. Even I do not have such skill,” he shook out of his distant thoughts and looked at you properly. “I hate to even mention this, love, but there is only one way for me to be able to see where the tampering occurred. Some of that memory is real.Some is not,” he hesitated. “Can you be brave enough, strong enough, to relive that nightmare once more?” You knew how much it hurt him to ask that. You also knew he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t the only way.You both wanted to know how your memories had been tampered with and where. “I will be there with you the entire time,” he promised.

You nodded. “I see it nearly every night anyway,” you reminded him, trying to sound flippant about it, trying to sound unconcerned. Seeing it twice tonight wouldn’t be that much worse.Surely, it wouldn’t.

“I would never ask. I do not want to subject you to this, but it is the only way.” Loki sounded heartbroken and torn by making you relive this.

“I know, Loki. I know you’d never hurt me,” you whispered. “Do what you need. I’ll be ok,” you promised him, sounding more sure than you felt about this prospect. He nodded and kissed your forehead.

“I will make this as easy on you as you am able,” he promised. He pressed his lips to your forehead again and you felt his magic roll over you. You succumbed to a deep sleep in under a minute.

_The nightmare started again, you couldn’t stop it and couldn’t change what you saw and felt._

_You woke coughing and sat bolt upright in your bed. There was a strange orange glow surrounding you and too much heat. Way too much heat. The air was fogged. No, not fogged, filled with smoke. You jumped out of the bed. You were wearing flimsy summer pajamas, a tank top and short shorts that your dad disapproved of. You fell to your knees instantly, coughing from the smoke. It took a minute of sucking in the cleaner air on the floor of your room before you were able to move. You got back to your feet and stumbled a few steps toward your door. You had to get downstairs._

_You faintly heard laughter from outside as the villains celebrated. You managed to get your door open and saw that your entire world was covered in flames. You turned to go back in your room, to try to get out through the window, but the way was cut off there. On your knees, you made your way to the staircase. It was the only way to breathe in the world filled with the hazy smoke. It was a fight to breathe and all you could think about was how you were going to die if you didn’t keep going. You had to get out or you would die. You clutched onto the banister for support and ran down the stairs as fast as you could. The stairs would give out soon if you didn’t move quickly. The stairs led into your foyer._

_You stopped moving and just screamed when you entered the foyer, though you barely had the breath for it. You fell to your knees again, sobbing at the scene before your eyes. Both of your parents were tied to your dining room chairs. Chairs that didn’t belong in that room, but had been dragged there for that purpose. They were both dead already, each with a gunshot wound in their head. You managed to stumble to your feet and run to them anyway. You had to untie them. Had to try to save them. Had to get them out of here. You shook them, trying to wake them, though part of you knew better. You knew they were dead, you were just so out of it from smoke inhalation and horror that you weren’t thinking clearly._

_Something crashed through your brain, yelling for you to get out of there or you would die. Some sense of self preservation kicked in and you left your parents with tears streaming down your face for doing it, to try to run for the door, to try to get out of here. There was a loud crash. You raised your arms to protect yourself, but you were thrown off of your feet. One of the wooden structure pillars that supported...something... in the house was pinning you to the ground a moment later, burning the leg it was trapping._

_You screamed and screamed for help as you tried to push the pillar off of you, but it was no use. Eventually, you succumbed to the smoke and the heat of the fire and passed out in the middle of the flames._

You woke to frost covering you, shivering in Loki’s arms. You didn’t mind, though. You were safe from the fire. You would take being cold to being burned alive again. “Don’t make you do that again tonight,” you begged Loki, your voice so hoarse and raw. You guessed you had been screaming again in your nightmares.

“I will not,” he replied gently and stopped breathing frost. “I saw what I needed. Come, darling, we’ll discuss this over tea,” he told you gently. You nodded and let him help you out of your bed. He wrapped his robe around you when you were standing. It was too big and smelled like him, but that was what made it perfect.He led you downstairs to the kitchen with his arm around you. You needed to walk this time, needed to focus on the real world and not the nightmare hellscape you had escaped.

You sat on a stool in the kitchen and he made your tea the human way. You watched him work in silence and let him tuck you under a thick blanket on the couch with your tea once it was ready.

You sat in silence and sipped on your tea. He had slipped honey in your and it soothed your throat some.“Did you find out what was tampered?” you asked him softly. You didn’t want to aggravate your throat anymore than you had to.

He looked up at you and nodded. “It was the moment after you ran to your parents. That is where the tampering began. I do not know who did it or why, but everything after that is a false memory. I cannot dig deeper into it without hurting you, which I will not do,” he told you firmly.Much as you wanted to know what really happened that night, Loki wasn’t going to help you if it would hurt you.

“Why would they change my memories?” you asked him, confused.That was the part that didn’t make sense.Hell, none of this made sense.Who would change your memories and why?

“Something happened after that moment that someone does not want you to remember,” he answered.

You considered that, then threw the blanket aside and pulled up your pant leg to show him the scar on your leg from where you’d been pinned by the beam. “I have the scar from the beam that pinned me down still,” you reminded him. He looked it over and nodded.

“I do not understand it any more than you do,” he told you gently as he tucked the blanket back around you. “I think we should be on our guard though. There is a reason your memories were tampered with,”

You nodded and went back to your tea, trying not to think about the fire anymore. So you decided to change the subject. “You haven’t told you when your birthday is,” you reminded him.

He rolled his eyes with a put-upon sigh. “Darling, I have explained already that our calendar does not coincide with Earth’s,” you glared at him.

“You could narrow it down some and we’ll pick a birthday for you,” you reminded him quite logically.This argument had come up a few times already. 

He laughed. “Very well. My birthday falls in our spring, the day the hoofali trees bloom,” he said fondly.You could see him imagining the way the trees looked when they bloomed.You sensed his homesickness.

You grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood. “Spring…” you pondered, then lit up. “I know when your birthday should be!”

“And when is that?” he asked, amused.

“April 1st!” you exclaimed. He looked at you confused. “April 1st is known as April Fool’s Day. It’s a day for tricks and pranks. It’s traditional to pull pranks on friends and family and coworkers on that day.”

He laughed then and the sound of his laughter scared the last of your nightmare memories away. “That is the perfect day indeed,” he told you. “Are you ready to go back to bed?” he asked gently, knowing you needed more sleep than he did.. You shook your head.

“You can go. I don’t want to go back to sleep tonight.”It was only 3am, but you couldn’t go back to sleep and risk those nightmares again.Not for a third time that night.

“I can make it so you will not dream,” he reminded you.

You shook your head. “Not tonight, Loki. No more magic in my head tonight,”

“As you wish, my dear,” he told you, but didn’t sound convinced. Instead, he put the Avengers movie on the TV and let you curl up with him, laying your head on his cool chest.

Two Avengers movies later, Tony came clomping into the room. “Can’t you two stay out of the news?” He grumbled at you. You sat up and looked at him. You figured you looked like hell after the night you’d been through, especially if he wasn’t yelling about you being on the news, but was only grumbling instead.

“We didn’t do anything,” you swore. Tony grabbed the remote and switched the TV to the news. “Oh. That.” They were playing your entire performance from the comic con in its entirety. “It was a promotion for the movie,” you shrugged. You all liked the Avengers movies being in a good light and doing things like the stunt at comic con helped with that.

“Just try to stay out of the news, ok?” he asked.

You nodded. “I don’t _try_ to get on the news,” you reminded him.

“You feeling ok, kiddo? You don’t look like you are,” Tony finally asked, concerned. He placed a hand on your forehead and you rolled your eyes at him.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well,” you replied sourly. He finally accepted that and left you alone. You watched your performance with Loki when they showed it again and you couldn’t help giggling at it. You had to admit you’d actually had done a really good job.

*

You spent most of the rest of the month working on Loki’s birthday present, which was hard since you were hiding it from him. It involved a lot of cooperation from the supers to get it accomplished too, plus Tony’s credit card. Loki kept pestering you to find out what you were doing, but you refused to tell him. Fury even helped you by making sure Loki was on patrol all day on March 30th and 31st. It took you the entirety of those two days to get his present made. On the 30th, he knocked on his door, growling when he found it locked

“Why am I locked out of my room?” he asked when you cracked the door open.

“Because your birthday present is in here. So you’re not allowed in here,” you told him quite logically.

“I would like to get some sleep before my next patrol shift,” he answered, also logically.

“You can sleep in my room,” you reassured. “And no peeking at your present!” you told him. You did give him a kiss before you sent him to your room to get some sleep. “Promise you won’t peek,” you begged. You really didn’t want the surprise ruined. He sighed, but promised. You knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t break a promise, no matter that it would drive him crazy until his birthday. Especially when he could use magic to see into the room and you’d never know.

Finally, late in the evening on March 31st, his present was completed. After his cake and ice cream and presents, which somehow were all either Loki or Elsa themed, you led him up to his room to show him his actual present from you. “I have been dying to find out what you have been up to, darling,” he told you, giddy with excitement. You stopped outside his room and handed him the new key.

“Then open the door and find out,” you told him with a smile. He did and you watched his mouth fall open. He stared in shock as he stepped into the room.

“How did you do this?” he asked, staring in awe.

“I had a lot of help,” you admitted. The supers had spent two days straight working with you to change his suite into an exact replica of his suite on Asgard.

“How?” he repeated. He couldn’t get any more words out and you were proud of yourself for tripping up his silver tongue.

“You showed me an illusion of it months ago,” you reminded him. “Wanda read the image from my mind and projected it to the others. Doug and his crew helped with the actual construction. Uncle Tony’s credit card and the internet helped some. We got it as close as we could.” you knew you had gotten it perfect, but you weren’t going to brag.

Loki pulled you into a hug. “I love it. It’s perfect. Thank you, darling,” he finally told you before he kissed you deeply. He stared around the room in awe again. You saw the tears in his eyes. You knew he missed his home, that’s why you’d done this. This was the closest you could get to it for him. “I do not have the words to thank you properly,” he added softly, emotion in his words.You spent the evening in his room, before he sent you to your own room just before midnight.

“You’re kicking me out early,” you accused. He grinned.

“I want you out of danger before the pranks begin,” he replied. You giggled, but let him shoo you from the room. You stayed in your own room, wondering what the next day would be.

There was an ice rose waiting for you on your nightstand and you smiled at it as you fell asleep.

The next morning, you woke early and headed down to breakfast as usual. No one was around since it was so early. So you made breakfast and sat down with your book on the couch while you waited for everyone to get up. You hadn’t seen any pranks, yet, so you wondered what was going on. Knowing Loki, he wouldn’t throw this chance away.

It was then you heard the roar. “KAT! WHERE IS THAT CURSED BOYFRIEND OF YOURS?” It sounded like Tony, but something was off with his voice. You looked over and just started laughing. You couldn’t stop for a good five minutes. “It will hurt no less when you kill him in this form,” Tony growled. Tony was female. A rather attractive female. Like someone had taken him, turned him into a girl, and then made him extra hot. It was hilarious.

You finally stopped laughing long enough to shrug. “I haven’t seen Loki yet today,” you told him calmly. More people were beginning to mill in. All of them were either pissed or laughing. Or both. Everyone had changed genders. You seemed to be the only one immune. You saw Helene. She had been immune too. You were relieved. It wouldn’t be nice to prank her with all she did for everyone in the tower and you were glad that Loki seemed to understand that too.

“How are we supposed to go on patrol like this?” Wanda asked from a man’s body. You tried not to laugh at her. She could kick your ass on a good day, today she’d do it without question.It was so very hard not to laugh. “How come you’re not affected?” she demanded when she saw you.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen Loki,” you reminded them. They kept glaring at you like this was your fault. Loki finally came downstairs looking like the most gorgeous woman you had ever set eyes on. Everyone glared at you more. “Not my fault,” you reminded them. You had no access to magic.

Fury came storming in. He was only recognizable because of his uniform and eyepatch, since he was a stern middle aged woman now. “Patrols will continue as usual. The villains won’t know what hit them.” He ordered, then burst out laughing. At least he enjoyed the prank. Everyone grumbled, but went off to do whatever they were supposed to be doing.

Loki came over to see you. “Good morning, my dear,” she told you with a glint in her eyes and her Cheshire Cat grin firmly in place.

“Morning,” you replied. “You pranked yourself too?” you asked, curious as to her transformation.

Loki shrugged and looked a bit shy. “Not exactly… I am what you Midgardians call ‘genderfluid’.I identify as male most of the time, but only that, most of the time.Today, I wish to be female,” she paused, letting you take that in. You offered her a bright accepting smile and she relaxed.“Would you care to join us in the fun?” she asked you.

You shook your head. “Thank you, no,” you replied with a giggle. “Tom sent you a message this morning that they’ll be on campus today doing some filming. Want to go see them?” you asked. Tom usually texted you instead of Loki.It tended to work better.

Loki giggled and gods the sound was adorable.“This will be fun,” she told you brightly. You couldn’t help laughing too and you left the compound to go watch the filming. Tom and Kelly saw you and waved you over.

“Who’s your frien-?” Tom started to ask before he got a good look at Loki.

“There’s an April Fool’s prank running amok around here,” you told him with a smile. “Loki got tied up in it.”You wouldn’t out Loki’s genderfluidity to outsiders without Loki’s ok.You also wouldn’t pressure her into being ok with it.

Tom and Kelly just started laughing. They grabbed Loki by both hands and dragged her over to the director and producers for ideas for the movie. You laughed as Loki was dragged off. They took a bunch of pictures of her and made her run a couple of scenes for them and read some lines. You had a feeling this would be a plot point at some point. It wasn’t like Loki hadn’t been female in the comics already.

“Darling, you’re looking cold,” Loki told you once they let her go. She conjured a hat and handed it to you. You rolled your eyes at your overprotective girlfriend, but accepted it. You should have known better, but Loki was always like this so you hadn’t thought about it. You plopped the hat on your head. It was a cat-ear hat, and would’ve been cute had it not disappeared the second you put it on your head, leaving only cat ears in its wake.

“Loki!” you exclaimed, giggling.

“I couldn’t leave you out of all of the fun,” she giggled. You laughed together and hung out that day with everyone in the wrong bodies. It was hilarious to see the guys in girl bodies sitting with their legs spread and no one knowing how to walk or talk. “Don’t worry, Loki finally told them. The spell wears off at midnight.”

 


	24. Chapter 24

Loki woke you fairly early the next morning. Your cat ears were gone and he was back to his male form. They’d both gone back before you’d gone to bed that night. 

“Wake up, darling. I have a surprised planned,” he told you gently as he shook you awake. You opened your eyes and smiled up at him.

“What kind of surprise?” you asked, too curious for your own good.

“The kind that is a surprise,” he replied dryly. You laughed and climbed out of bed. “Allow me,” he told you warmly. He took your hand and with a shimmer of green magic, you were suddenly wearing a dress that could have worked as a Sigyn cosplay. The dress was floor length and beautiful.It wasn’t _quite_ her dress from the move, but it was very close. You wondered why you needed a cosplay outfit for this outing, but Loki wasn’t sharing. 

Loki kept hold of your hand and you realized that he was wearing a tunic and leggings, clothes that could have come from the movie too, but more casual than the battle leathers. He opened a spellbook in front of him and rattled off the spell. You saw the effort it took him, so you knew it was major magic. A swirling green portal appeared in front of you when he had finished. Loki laughed in delight and looked immensely proud of himself.He took your hand again and half led, half pulled you through the portal.

You stepped through the portal

And into his bedroom.

That was a disappointment.

“Loki... you can teleport us from your room to yours,” it was just across the hall after all. “You don’t need a big, draining magic for that,” you reminded him. He could be careless with his magic, but usually not _this_ careless.Not to use major magic just to teleport across the hall.

Loki laughed, the sound full of true joy. He was so excited and full of mirth. “Not _this_ bedroom, darling,” he told you warmly. “You did a good job with it, but look closer,” he gestured to the window, as if the answer laid there. You took the couple of steps over to it and looked outside to a city with three moons over it.

“We’re on Asgard?” you asked, surprised. You didn’t know he had the power to get you all the way to Asgard.You thought only Heimdall had that ability with the giant sword and the Bifrost. Loki inclined his head with a proud grin. “I thought you were banished?”

“I said that banished was the closest word for it. I am allowed to visit home,” he replied warmly. “It just took awhile to find the correct spell for it.I _could_ have asked Heimdall, but I hate relying on him,”

“You did clear this with everyone on Earth, right?” you asked him, warily.You didn’t want him in trouble.Especially with Tony.Tony would kill him if he took you off world, even if you were technically of age now.

“Of course. Now, come, I would like for you to meet my family, though of course you know my idiot brother already,” He offered you his arm with a warm smile. He was so excited to be home, you could see it in his eyes.You laid your hand on his arm and let him lead you from his suite.He had a whole suite, not just a bedroom, you realized.

When he was living on Earth, it was sometimes hard to remember that he was a prince.It wasn’t hard to remember now.

You walked down the halls of the palace on Loki’s arm. Servants bowed to you, murmuring polite greetings to Loki as you walked by. It was so strange. You weren’t used to being bowed to, even if you knew they were only really bowing to Loki.

Loki led you to a cozy dining room in what he said was the family wing of the palace. When you entered, you recognized his parents, Thor, and Thor’s wife Lady Sif, at once.The movies had portrayed Odin, Frigga, and Sif fairly accurately, and Loki had shown you an illusion of them once before.Plus you’d lived with Thor when he was at the tower. He wasn’t around much lately, as he had duties on Asgard with being official heir. 

That didn’t make you any less terrified to have breakfast with them.Especially since you weren’t _expecting_ to have breakfast with the royal family of Asgard that morning.

Hell, you hadn’t expected to be in Asgard that morning. 

Loki’s family looked up when you entered and it took every single ounce of willpower you possessed to not hide behind Loki. Frigga was the first one to move. She stood gracefully and rushed over to Loki with a speed that would be unseemly for a queen.“Loki! You came home!” she exclaimed, hugging him around the neck. “How are you dear? How is your journey going? Have you been eating?” she asked all the questions you expected a mother who hadn’t seen her son in awhile to demand.Especially a son who was so far from home.

You took a step back, letting them have their moment while Loki reassured her that everything was going well. That he was eating, and happy, that everything was going well with the team. He was making friends and making his way in the realms, as was his duty to the throne. 

Frigga finally looked over at you. “I’m sorry, dear. It has just been so long since we last saw Loki,” she told you with a warm, gentle motherly smile. “I am Frigga, queen of Asgard, it is a pleasure to meet you,”

You desperately wished Loki had prepared for you to meet his parents. Especially since his parents were the King and Queen of the fucking realm.“Mother, I would like to introduce Lady Y/N Stark.She does me the honor of being my Kærasta,” you heard the word translated as ‘girlfriend, love, dear one’ in your mind when Loki spoke it.

“It is a pleasure to you meet you, ma’am,” you replied politely, hoping it was polite enough. You were _way_ out of your element talking to royalty.

Though the moment Loki had said Kærasta, Frigga’s focus had turned from royalty meeting a foreign visitor, to mother grilling her son’s girlfriend.She grilled you on every detail of your life and your time with Loki.It was a long time of grilling and Loki eventually had to save you.

You spent the entire long weekend on Asgard. He showed you all of his favorite sites, especially the library and gardens. There were feasts and introductions to all of his friends and family. Lady Sif even showed you some new dagger tricks when she found out Loki had been teaching you.

There was a huge farewell feast the night you had to leave. You knew it was bittersweet for Loki.

“We can come visit again,” you reminded him gently when you caught his mood.

He nodded, though looked sad. “However, for today, we must return you back to your home. There is still school tomorrow,” he reminded you.

You groaned. “I didn’t get any of my homework done,” you whined at him. You hadn’t been able to plan ahead for the trip, so you hadn’t done your homework.

Loki laughed. “Do not worry about that. I completely it for you before we left,” he told you warmly.

“I shouldn’t accept that, but I’m not going to complain.”

Loki opened the portal back to Earth and you stepped through into your sittingroom. You were both laughing until we saw that Fury and Tony were waiting on your couch for you. Neither of them looked happy. The portal snapped shut behind you. “You two are in _so_ much trouble,” Fury growled.

Loki held up his hands in surrender. “Place all of the blame on me,” he insisted. “Lady Y/N did not know that this trip was not authorized,” he told them.

“You _lied_ to me?” you demanded incredulously. You had specifically asked him if it was approved or not.You hadn’t wanted him to get in trouble.

“I had to, darling. You cannot be blamed if you did not know. I wanted to take you on the trip and knew that it would never be approved,”

“Your damn right it wasn’t approved,” Fury yelled, standing to face down Loki. “I don’t care if you are an adult. You’re grounded for this stunt. You can’t take a girl under our protection off world without permission!” Fury rarely had to punish the supers under his command. Usually it was extra chores or training for being late, or losing control of their powers or something. Never for deliberate disobedience. “You come with me,” Fury grabbed Loki by the arm and dragged him from the room to hash out his punishment.Loki went willingly, he’d expected to be punished for this stunt. 

Tony jumped up from the couch and pulled you into a tight hug before you could run after Loki to protect him from Fury. “Kat, I was so worried about you. All we had was a note from Loki saying you went on a long weekend trip to Asgard,”

“It was amazing, Uncle Tony!” you told him, gushing about how awesome and palace was and how much fun you’d had with Loki’s family.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Can’t you even be a little sorry you left with no notice?You’re my responsibility, kid,” he reminded you.Your parents had left you in his care in their will so you hadn’t had to go to foster care.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” you finally admitted.You didn’t want to scare him.

“You’re such an imp,” he growled at you. “At least he made sure that you stay out of trouble for this,” he sighed. “It’s late. Get some sleep,”

He left your room, but you weren’t actually going to sleep until you found out what happened to Loki. So you changed into your pajamas and waited for him in your sittingroom. He came back up a couple hours later in his typical pajamas of black pajama pants and a green t-shirt. His wrists were shackled again.

“Fury is quite upset with me it seems,” he grinned at you as you let him in to your room.

“Loki,” you worried over his wrists and the unfair punishment.You were 18.You were allowed to go on trips with your boyfriend.Though apparently Fury disagreed when you were a ward of the Avengers and he hadn’t been told of the trip.Control freak.

“I’m fine, love. This will blow over and he will remember that I am more useful to him with magic than without,”

It didn’t blow over for a month. The only real effect was that you and Loki couldn’t go out on dates. You spent a lot of time watching movies inside the tower instead. Loki was still your guard in the evenings. You felt like you were the one who was punished more, since you had to have Nat come with you to all of your classes, and couldn’t talk magically to Loki during them. It made Loki’s life more difficult when he couldn’t use magic openly, but he still had a little, even through all of the blocks the chains put on him. It stopped him from carrying you to bed, but didn’t stop the kisses, or from him waking you from nightmares with his ice cold hands.

Fury did finally remember that Loki was more useful when he was on patrol and set him free on probation. You were left alone for a few nights, but Loki somehow wormed his way back onto being assigned as your guard. His silver tongue was very useful against Fury, it seemed.

Though the most worrying thing was that you found that Loki’s nightmares and visions of you dying hadn’t dissipated when you heard him scream your name one night, tossing and turning in his bed.


	25. Chapter 25

Prom tickets went on sale a couple weeks before the dance, which would be held at the end of May. “You’re still coming with you to the prom, right?” you asked Loki the morning they went on sale.

“Of course, darling, though you will have to enlighten me on the traditions of the...prom,” he stumbled over the unfamiliar word.You could tell that he wanted to call it a ball instead.You forgot that you hadn’t called it the prom earlier.

“The prom is a big dance, a ball, at the end of the school year. Everyone dresses up in super fancy dresses and tuxedos. Generally you and your date go out to a fancy meal beforehand and the dance lasts until midnight,” you explained to him, hoping you were being clear.It was hard to tell what he knew and what he didn’t of Midgardian culture.However, you knew for a fact that he knew about balls, they had them on Asgard.

“You promised to wear the dress I made you to the ball,” he reminded you, smirking as if he were getting away with something.He wasn’t.You were just glad you didn’t have to go dress shopping. 

“And you promised to go with me. I just wanted to make sure that was still the case before I bought the tickets,” you explained.

Loki glowered, bristling with temper and indignation. “I should be the one to purchase the tickets,” he grumbled at you indignantly.He looked like a grumpy cat and you couldn’t help laughing at him.

“You can’t,” you told him gently, knowing he didn’t understand the concept. “I have to do it since I’m the student there and you aren’t,” you reminded him. He still looked unhappy, but seemed to understand finally that there were rules.The rules were in place to protect the students. 

Loki was still coming with you to school every day. You usually walked there, unless the weather was bad. It was a pleasant start to the day and the walk wasn’t that far. “Oh, shit! I forgot to ask you for a favor from the school,” you told him before you got to the school that day.

“What language from a lady!” he chided, sounding more like Cap than your boyfriend.

“Loki, this is important,” you replied sternly.There wasn’t time for jokes.You really had fucked up in forgetting to ask for Loki’s help. 

“What favor would the school like?” Loki asked, more seriously, sensing your mood from your tone.

“They wanted you to get you to dress in a uniform today and pretend to be a student. They have a tour group coming through, which is annoying when I’m a stop on the tour,” you grumbled over that, hating that the school used your presence to try to recruit others.“They don’t want the parents to see that I have a guard, or they might think the school in unsafe. So they want you to pretend to be a student for the day,” you explained.Loki raised his eyebrow, wondering why you hadn’t told him already. “I’m sorry! They called last night and asked me, but you were on patrol so I forgot to ask when you got back,” you apologized quickly.

He sighed and looked put-upon.For once you couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.“Very well,” he replied. The green glow of his magic passed over him and he was wearing one of the school uniforms and had seemed to de-age a couple of years so he could pass for a high schooler. You reached up to straighten his tie. “This outfit is ridiculous,” he grumbled.

“At least you have pants,” you reminded him, grumbling at the stupid short skirt. He laughed and took your hand. You looked up at him confused.You hid that you were dating while he was on guard duty. 

“If I am pretending to be a student, I should at least get to be your boyfriend today.” He had a point. They couldn’t say anything if he was doing them a favor.

By the end of the first tour, you were trying not to glare.They had come to bother you and try to ask you questions about Tony.In the middle of class. You may not have given a shit about school, but you _did_ care about your grades and hated that idiot tour groups were putting said grades in jeopardy.

“I should’ve skipped school today,” you grumbled at Loki. Every single tour group was the same and you felt like you were followed around by them all day.Asking stupid question.At least you got to buy your prom tickets at lunch, so that was out of the way. 

You also got to spend all day with Loki, so that was a plus. 

You managed to survive that day without drawing a dagger on any of the helpless humans, which you were extremely proud of.You were extremely impressed with yourself on that front.

You and Loki worked out extra hard during combat training that afternoon. You needed to blow off steam.Desperately.

*

Prom fever hit the school as the night of the dance drew closer. You caught Loki eavesdropping on other couples’ plans so he could get ideas for that night.He didn’t know Midgardian traditions besides movies and those couldn’t be trusted.

Whatever he did was going to be magical.You knew it in your heart.

The day before the dance, one of the girls in your English class came up to you. She had been talking to you more since you worked on a project together and had to present it in front of the class. You carried the presentation and so she got an A on it too. At least she’d been nice about it and had done _some_ work on it. 

She handed you an envelope when she approached. “I know it’s hokey, but I’m having a birthday party next week. I’d really like it if you came,” she told you warmly. You smiled up at her. You had gotten more open with your classmates lately, some of Loki’s influence wearing off you supposed.Though Loki wasn’t the most open, you had to set a good impression for him.

“Really? You want me to come?” you asked, wondering if this was a thing where she had to invite the whole class or something. You never got invited to birthday parties.Unless they were inviting you to get Tony to show up.

“Of course! You’re me friend. Oh, don’t bring any gifts, we’re not doing anything silly like that. It’s just pizza and movies and stupid card games. Thanks for the book recommendation, by the way, I’m hooked on the series now,” she waved and went to her desk before class started. You grinned down at the invitation like an idiot, so happy to actually get an invitation to a party. It never happened, not since your parents died and you got outed as some kind of weird, powerless celebrity. They were scared of your superhero guardians and thought you was weird because you was a bookworm. They were finally starting to come around. You tucked the invitation away in your bag carefully, still grinning.

“You’re pleased,” Loki whispered in your ear through magic. It was worded as a statement, but he was questioning why you were so pleased.

/This is the first legitimate party invitation I’ve gotten since my parents died/ you told him. /I thought all the kids here hated me or only wanted me around to get to Uncle Tony. I was wrong/

“I’m glad you’re happy,” was his only reply.He did sound pleased that you were happy.

You knew you had the easiest preparation of all of the girls for the prom the next day. Loki did your hair, clothes, and makeup with magic, so you could relax until the very last moment. He wore a full tuxedo and it was fitted and tailored perfectly. Your long black and green ballgown fit equally well. Your hair was in an up-do and you even had a tiara.

Your first surprise of the night was the limo that came to pick you up. “You got us a limo?!?!?” you exclaimed excitedly. You had fallen into prom fever just like the rest of the school. Loki smiled at the excitement on your face.

“And I am glad I did. It was worth it just for your expression,” he told you warmly. The driver held the door open for you and Loki helped you in. He took you to the fanciest restaurant in town for dinner. It was stupidly expensive, you were sure, but it was the most delicious mean you could ever remember eating.

The students looked at you in shock and awe when you arrived. You knew you looked fantastic, but didn’t think you looked that awesome.But you and Loki were both celebrities and it was harder to forget when you weren’t in uniform. Though everyone was dressed well, it was the prom after all.

You had to teach Loki how to do the electric slide that night. It was hilarious getting him to try to learn.

It was one of the best nights of your life and you knew when you kissed him during the last dance at midnight that you would remember it forever.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: rape

“Kat, are you sure?” Loki asked. Again. He and Tony were taking you in Tony’s car to Claire’s party.It wasn’t _that_ far away and you had your own car, but the overprotective males in your life wanted to make sure you arrived safely.They insisted that they were going to drive you there and back to keep you safe. 

Overprotective males.

“I’m sure, Loki. You weren’t invited. I can’t just go inviting people to an event I’m a guest at,” you reminded them. There were social rules you had to follow. “And this is the first party I’ve been invited to legitimately since my parents died.I’m not skipping it.I’m letting you guys drop me off and pick me back up. I have my dagger sheath and my cell phone,” you added grumpily. You understood the need for caution, but this seemed overkill.You were never going to be invited to another party if you were seen as such a freak going to this one. “And The Harlequin has been quiet for weeks. There’ve barely been any petty thieves for you guys to deal with,” you knew that both he and Tony were overprotective, but this was a human birthday party. Besides, they were patrolling the area tonight. you were sure if you so much as raised your voice they would be banging the door down.

Tony stopped in front of the house in question.You climbed out of the car, straightened the skirt on your sundress, and went up to the door with Loki and Tony watching from the car. You were let in immediately by Claire.

“You made it!” she exclaimed more excitedly than you were expecting. She looked past you and waved to Loki and Tony in Tony’s car and dragged you into the house. “Just in time too, the pizza just got here,” she led you into the room where the rest of the party guests were gathered. You were surprised that about half of the kids here were some of the most popular in the school. The group was split in two and you took a spot with the less popular kids.It was where you belonged after all.You were famous, not popular.

You ate pizza with your classmates and played a silly card game that was excessively dirty for a card came. They even played Superhero Musical and this group sang along too. It felt almost like home with the supers. You found out that Claire’s parents were out of town and didn’t know she was having so many people over. She asked you all to be careful so she didn’t get in trouble. You could understand that sentiment. You would be dead if you had a party while the Avengers were off on a mission.

The teens offered you beer and other alcohol, but you declined. You didn’t drink and wasn’t about to start here, especially not with Tony and Loki on alert for requests for help. No one teased you or anything for it, which you were surprised about. They just accepted your decision. Especially when you reminded them that Ironman was picking you up later.They didn’t want to upset him or Loki.

Part of the way through the evening, one of the guys gathered up a bunch of people’s red solo cups to refill pop and beer for everyone. You took your cup back from him when he came back to the table with a thanks. It was your turn to choose the winning card in the game so you were a bit distracted. You drank your pop while you debated the cards in front of you. It tasted a little off, like it had gone flat or something. You didn’t give it much thought as you were being pressured to make a decision.You finally chose one and everyone laughed at your decision and agreed with your choice for winner.

You relaxed around the group, feeling giddy and nearly drunk off of their fun and emotions. It took you too long to realize that the drunk feeling was wrong. You shouldn’t be woozy, shouldn’t be drunk.You’d only been drinking pop all evening. 

Maybe it was just the heat of so many people all in one room.

Maybe.

You excused yourself and stood, heading from the room to get some air, to try to clear your head. You needed your head clear.You hadn’t realized how bad you were until you stood.Until you tried to walk from the room without letting the others know there was something wrong. 

You managed to get to the other room, though the room was starting to spin around you. Your limbs were too heavy and you could barely think or feel anything. This was bad. It was only due to the long hours of training your mind to be able to talk to Loki that you was able to keep your mind from getting immediately washed away.

Fuck.

Getting washed away.

Someone had drugged you.

With something nasty based on how fast it was working.

You had heard that you could fight these kind of drugs for a couple of minute, if you figured it out quickly and if you fought against them. You fought now. You could barely move your body, your limbs weren’t responding. You were losing control far too quickly. So you had to move faster while you still could.You fumbled in your pocket, fumbled and fumbled until you finally got your hands to get your phone out. You only had enough coherence left for one text. You had to make it count.

<Help> you sent Loki the message and immediately locked your phone again. If this went worse, you didn’t want someone else seeing that you had called for help. You had enough coherence for that.

Arms grabbed you and steered your body, making you follow them up the stairs. They stayed behind you so you couldn’t see who they were and you couldn’t get your body to do anything but what it was led to do.You fought and begged and pleaded with your mind to make your body obey but you were trapped within your own mind. You could see and hear and experience everything that was going on around you, but you couldn’t make your body do anything.

It was beyond terrifying.

“I told you you’d regret turning me down, bitch. Let’s see if your freaky alien boyfriend wants you after this,” quarterback jock boy hissed from behind you as he was forcing you up the stairs. “And I’ll get Stark’s fortune when I put a baby in your belly,” stupid asshole.That would never happen. You wouldn’t let it.Tony wouldn’t let it.Loki would flay him alive for even thinking it.“Don’t bother trying to fight. I know you’re still in there and get to enjoy every moment of this. Those drugs are designed for supers. It blocks their powers, makes them puppets that will do as they’re told. Nothing you can do to stop it if the strongest supers in the city can’t even fight it,” he sneered.

You tried to fight him.You tried to reach Loki with your mind.You tried anything and everything you could think of. 

He got your body to lie down on the bed in the room he had led you to. He roughly pushed up your skirt and you heard his zipper. _No, no, no, no!_ but there was nothing, nothing you could do. Your body wouldn’t obey. You couldn’t even close your eyes and had to watch him as he climbed up onto the bed. As he shoved his underwear out to release his hard cock. 

_NO!_

Something snapped in your brain with a wicked pain. It felt like you had been torn in pieces.

You panicked, but your body wouldn’t move as he forced your legs apart, forced you open.Slammed himself inside of you.

As he violated you in mind and body.

_NO!!!!!!!!!!!_

The next instant, he flew off of the bed, crashing hard through the wall. Things around the room were floating and a trashcan nearby was on fire. Seconds later, Loki and Tony came crashing into the room.

/Loki! Loki help!/ you screamed, frantic. Tony held him back from coming to you.He actually touched Loki and somehow managed to not get stabbed for it.Loki knew that Tony would only do what was best for you.

“You can’t heal her yet. Don’t touch her. We need the cops here, now. Also will you stop with the fire?” Tony demanded of Loki. Tony told Jarvis to contact the police.They came faster when it was Jarvis who was telling them of the emergency.

Loki came to your side, but didn’t touch you, didn’t contaminate the scene. “I’m here, love. You’ll be ok now,” he turned to Tony. “I’m not doing any of this,” Loki indicated the floating things and the fire.

“Then who-?” Tony started.Loki gestured to you.“That’s impossible. She’s drugged to the teeth with Dollbaby,” apparently he recognized it, though you hadn’t been able to tell either of them what it was.“Even if she had powers, she’d have no way to use them. Did you do this to the guy?” Tony asked Loki, indicating jock boy who was unconscious in the wall.

“I have done nothing. The only reason he is still alive is because we need his story for the police.I will gladly kill him once that is complete.I have quite a few lovely ideas that he will hate,” Loki replied. He went to the quarterback and looked him over. “On the other hand, it looks like my lady has done an excellent job herself. She burned right through his mind. He is a vegetable. I believe that is your term for it.”

“That’s impossible,” Tony repeated, but he didn’t look convinced.He knew something he wasn’t saying.

/Loki, please. Help/

“Soon, darling, I promise. We will get you help soon. They are on their way,” Loki told you as he returned to your side. 

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked, glaring at Loki.Those two were only barely getting along and this situation was fraying both their tempers. 

“I have telepathy. She is still in there and completely awake and aware. And terrified, might I add. She can hear and see us and can speak with you,” Loki explained. He would translate your telepathy to him for your uncle if you needed to talk to him.He knelt beside the bed and began singing lullabies from Asgard to keep you calm.

The police were there almost immediately. They did their investigation, they took samples and questioned people. They got a female cop to do the actual investigation on your body, after Loki growled that the men were scaring you and he would flay them alive if they touched you.

“She’s aware and awake.” Loki told them, his voice a deadly cold snarl. “I’m a telepath and can hear her just fine. And translate if you would like to take her statement.”He’d learned a lot about cops in his months on Midgard.

“Prove it,” one of the cops demanded sourly, not trusting Loki’s word.

“You are thinking that it is a shame that the star football player is in this condition as he had such a bright future,” Loki growled at one cop. The man blushed and was quickly thrown off this assignment. Loki looked at the female cop. “You are sad this happened and you are horrified by what you see here.”

This whole situation had gotten upgraded to massive emergency when it became known that it was Tony Stark’s niece who was involved.

“Can she tell you how this happened?” the cop asked Loki, her voice gentle and calm. It took effort, but you thought out the story for him, told him exactly what happened and he translated your words for her. He showed her his phone with the one word text from you to add to the story. “Thank you. I will make sure everything is tied up here with the humans. Get her back to your infirmary. Ask for Julia when you get there,” Julia was the head healer. “She’s my sister and I know she’s seen cases of Dollbaby before,”

“Can you teleport her that far?” Tony demanded of Loki. He wanted you back to the safety of the tower as quickly as possible.Loki nodded. “Good, get her out of here. I’ll help the cops here. And tell Fury that her powers have manifested. Take care of her,” Tony growled the words at Loki. He may not like Loki most of the time, or trust him as far as he could throw him, but he knew Loki would die defending you. 

Loki bowed, a formal acknowledgement of his agreement to care for you.“Always.” He came back over to you from where he’d been speaking with the cop.His movements were slow, careful, gentle, offering no threat. The things in the room were still floating and the trash can was still on fire, no matter how many people tried to put it out. “Darling, I have to pick you up,” he felt you cringe away from his words, even though your body didn’t move. “I know, love, I know. It will just be a minute. I swear.No harm will come to you,” he promised. “Please let me help you. You trusted me from the day we met, despite what everyone said about me. Please do not give up on me now,” he begged, knowing how helpless you felt when you couldn’t move and had been raped that night.He was asking too much from you and he knew it.

/Help me, please/ you begged him, so hurt and exhausted. You felt like you had been ripped apart in body, mind, and spirit. He lifted you carefully into his arms, trying to move you as little as possible. You saw the blood on the sheets and started panicking all over again. The fire blazed higher.

“Shh, love, it’s ok,” Loki whispered. He teleported you away from the scene, into the sterile white infirmary. You saw that the effort drained him, it had been farther than normal and with a passenger. “I need Julia here now!” he roared the second you had arrived. You had never heard that roar from him before. Thor yes, Loki no. “Kat has been injured. This is an emergency!” he bellowed. Feet pounded from all directions.

“I’m Julia,” the head healer told Loki. “What happened?”

“She was given Dollbaby and raped,” Loki told her. She looked horrified for a moment, but switched to healer mode immediately. They soon got you settled on one of the infirmary beds.

“Out!” she told Loki firmly. “She will not appreciate your presence right now,”

“I can translate for her,” he protested.

“She’s still awake in there?” she asked. “Most humans given Dollbaby are blacked out completely.”

Loki nodded. “She’s awake and aware,” he told her.

She nodded, though hesitantly. “You can come back once we get her out of these clothes and in to a hospital gown,” Loki left reluctantly. He was allowed back in a few minutes later. “Are you making everything float?” Julia asked Loki. He shook his head and looked at you.

“It is her,” he replied, tired of explaining.He just wanted you well.

“That’s not possible,” she replied, shaking her head firmly. She had placed her glowing golden hands on you and was healing your wounds.

“It is her, though,” Loki told her. You could tell he was getting tired of explaining the same thing over and over again. You felt that all he wanted to do was pull you into his arms and hold you there safely.

“Even if she had powers, the Dollbaby drug blocks them, completely. I have never seen a super who was able to use their powers past it. Not healers, not telepaths, not firestarters, no one. It traps the person inside their own mind,”

“Well, you will find out for sure once the drug wears off,” Loki replied, not convinced. He knew what he felt and everyone around him was being dumb and not listening to the master magician of Asgard.He knew what he was talking about when it came to magic and powers. 

“She needs to sleep it off. It should be out of her system by morning,” Julia told him. “I’d use drugs to put her to sleep, but that’s not a good idea. Nothing mixes well with Babydoll. I hate knowing that she’s suffering in there, though...”

Loki took a step forward. “Forgive me, love,” he told you softly, gently.You knew instantly what he intended to do.

/Loki, you can’t/ you begged him, your telepathic voice soft and pleading.You needed to stay awake until you could protect yourself again.

“You need sleep, darling. You will feel better when the drug is out of your system,”

/You’ll guard?/ you begged, your thoughts nearly hysterical and sobbing. Loki was there.Loki could keep you safe.

“Always, my love,” he promised. At your nod of agreement, he laid a glowing green hand on your forehead and you fell into a much needed dreamless sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

When you started to wake, the first thing you recognized was Loki’s voice. He must’ve sensed that you were beginning to stir, as that was when he started to speak.“Stay calm, darling. You’re safe,” he soothed, his voice gentle and calming. 

You recognized his voice and forced your eyes open to look at him. Even that was too much effort. You were exhausted.What came after exhausted?That’s where you were.Drained, body and soul. 

You finally looked around and recognized that you were in the infirmary.

Why were you in the infirmary? Why were you the one in the bed? Why was your head on fire? You felt like someone had dumped acid through your brain. And it was so loud, like everyone was chattering. Except that there was no one around. You felt so raw and bruised. “Loki?” you asked, hoarsely, your voice weak, like you’d been screaming all night from nightmares. Why was every moment so hard? You moved to sit up and he had to come help you and prop you up against the pillows. “What happened? Why are we here?” you managed to get the words out. You knew it was bad, though, for you to feel as awful as you did. 

How the hell had you ended up in the infirmary?

You almost never ended up here.

Loki hesitated, but finally answered. “You were drugged at the party last night.” His tone was soft, gentle, a healer’s gentle croon.“Healer Julia told me that your memories might be affected this morning. They will return soon. It is a side-effect of the drug,” he waited for you to nod, to acknowledge and verify for him that you had understood his words. You nodded for him, though it made your head hurt even worse.Gods, how could your head hurt even worse? “How are you feeling?” he was being overly cautious.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong

You couldn’t lie to him, especially when you were obviously in such back shape. “Like someone poured acid through my brain,” you admitted softly. 

He gave you a tiny, wan smile. “That is a fairly apt description,”

“Loki, what happened?” you asked, truly concerned now. He was never like this. Even during the worst things that happened to him, he made jokes and made light of the situation. But whatever had happened to you had him shaken. You felt the stress and worry scraping painfully against the raw nerves in your brain. Items around the bed started floating on their own.

“Darling, I know that it is difficult, but you must remain calm. I will tell you what happened, but know that it was terrible. Before I begin, I have to warn you...” he hesitated. You took his hand for comfort. He gave you a real smile then.

“Tell me,” you bid him. All you wanted was to crawl off of this damn hospital bed and into his arms. You couldn’t do that. You were here for a reason and needed to stay in the bed.

You then decided you didn’t care. You weren’t hooked up to any machines or anything. If the infirmary staff didn’t like it, they could just get over it. You managed to crawl out of the bed, despite Loki’s protests. When he figured out what you wanted, he helped pull you onto his lap and wrapped his arms around you to hold you there safely. You laid your head on his shoulder and felt you could finally relax. “Tell me, Loki,” you bid him again now that you were safe in his arms.

“What happened last night...blasted open your powers. That is why you are feeling like your mind was scrubbed with acid. Any small emotion is enough to set them off today. It will take awhile for the part of your mind that handles control of your powers to heal. I cannot help either,” he added before you could ask him to fix it.“Today your have to be extra careful. Any use of your powers will be quite painful,” he explained gently, keeping his voice that careful healer’s croon. 

You weren’t surprised to find out that you had powers. It had been an expectation of all of the supers that eventually you would become one of them. It also… felt right, felt like part of who you were. 

It also wasn’t surprising that your powers had appeared now. Whatever happened last night must have been traumatic for you to be in the shape you were in. Trauma could trigger the manifestation of powers. It was such a well known fact that some kids who were desperate to be supers would jump off of buildings to try to force their powers to activate. It worked just often enough that kids kept trying it.

The rest of the results were tragic if one of the fliers weren’t circulating that day.

“I understand,” you told him finally. “I’ll try to stay calm. Will you tell me now?” you asked.You needed to know what had happened. 

“You went to Claire’s birthday party last night. A couple hours into the party, you sent me a text that only said ‘help’. Tony and I came as fast as we could, but it was too late. That moronic football boy who has been troubling you had drugged your drink. He took you upstairs and raped you,” Loki didn’t mince his words or try to placate you with euphemisms.You were surprised for an instant, until you realized that it was Loki’s way.He would tell you exactly what had happened, no more, no less, which you were grateful for.

_“Let's see if your freaky alien boyfriend wants you after this. And I’ll get Stark’s fortune when I put a baby in your belly,” you heard the phantom words of memory. A piece of your missing memories from last night._

You clutched tighter onto Loki when you heard them, fighting back a sob. Loki rubbed your back and stroked your hair until you calmed again.

“No matter what that asshole said to you, I am not going to abandon you because someone hurt you,” Loki promised.

You looked up at him confused. “How did you know what he said?” you asked, fighting back you horror. Loki was telepathic, but he stayed out unless invited. You knew he wouldn’t eavesdrop now, not when you had already been violated.

“You were projecting, love. It appears telepathy is one of your powers.” Loki explained gently.You relaxed in his arms, accepting that explanation. You felt him stiffen, before he forced the next words out. “Now that you know what happened, do you wish to move back to the bed? I will not be offended. I only wish for you to feel safe.” Now he was hedging around his question, but you understood what he was really asking.He wanted to know if his touch upset you. 

If you felt unsafe with him because he was male.

You probably should’ve felt uncomfortable with him.

But you trusted him, loved him, and while you felt dirty and unclean, you took comfort in the love he offered freely.

You shook your head. “I’ve trusted you from the day we met. You haven’t hurt me in all the time I’ve known you. You’re not going to now,” you told him softly. It might be awhile before you felt clean again, before you felt like you weren’t violated and broken. You weren’t sure you ever wanted sex again, but you didn’t have to worry about any of that right that moment.

You sat like that for a long while. You saw some of the nurses come by to check on you, but they seemed pleased with this development and let you be.

Until the memories came flooding back. With a quick hand movement on his part, Loki threw a dark green shield around you. You screamed and sobbed when you had to live through that horror again. It wasn’t just remembering.

You had to relive every single moment of it.

The second the rememories had vanished, you scrambled off of Loki’s lap with more speed than you thought you could muster that day, and grabbed a nearby bowl, into which you were violently sick. You didn’t realize you were kneeling on the cold floor of the infirmary until you realized Loki was holding your hair back while you vomited.

You looked up at him when the feeling of nausea passed. He offered you a hand to help you up from the floor. You stared at it for a moment before you took it and let him pull you to your feet. He settled you back in the bed.

You realized he was looking green too and you wondered why. Had puking really grossed him out that much? 

Loki got you a glass of water and finally lowered the shields around the small room you were in. “Thank you,” you murmured.You knew he’d helped you a lot, you just didn’t understand how much.

“I am so sorry you had to live through that, darling. I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough to save you,” he told you, looking haunted and horrified.

“You...saw?” you asked, hoping against hope that you hadn’t made him relive it with you.

He nodded.For all that he was the god of lies, he wouldn’t lie to you. “Your power rose too fast and you got under my personal shields, which is a very impressive feat, my dear. I only just got the shield up to protect the rest of the compound,” he explained gently.He really didn’t want to upset you and trigger more powers. 

“I’m sorry,” you told him, feeling more drained and raw than you had when you woke.

One of the nurses came in then. “I felt a... disturbance. Is everything ok in here, Kat?” she asked you, assuming that Loki had done something to upset you.It was a safe assumption given the circumstances.

“My memories from last night came back,” you told her. She nodded and gentled her look. “When can I go home?” you asked her, fighting to control your emotions and keep the emotion out of your voice. You hated hospitals.

“Soon, dear. We just need to run a couple more tests. Your body is healed, but Fury wants Tela to come up and take a look at your mind and power levels,” the nurse explained. You remembered that Tela always read the power level and abilities of new recruits. “Fury himself will be up to talk to you too,” you nodded again. She left and you let yourself lay back against the pillows.

You looked over at Loki and gave him a pleading look.“Will you read to me?” you asked him softly.

He gave you a real smile then.It was a taste of normalcy.“Of course, darling. Any requests?”

You thought about it for a moment. There was one story you had been dying for him to read aloud. He had the perfect accent for it. “Harry Potter?” you asked hesitantly. He raised an eyebrow, but summoned the book.

“Any book in the world, and you choose this one? It must be quite special indeed,” he replied before he opened the book.

“Harry is an old friend,” you told him, trying to explain in a way that didn’t make you sound like a crazy person. That tended to happen really quickly when you started talking about Harry Potter. “Surely there’s a hero whose tales you’ve read so many times that you can recite them in your sleep, whose tales you keep reading again and again because you miss hearing about them?”

He smiled then, understanding. “The tales of Hiccup the Viking,” he replied with a fond smile. “Very well,” he turned a couple pages and began: “Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense” His tone and accent was perfect and you listened, enthralled by the tale, no matter how familiar it was. He also had the trick of doing the voices, and could mimic the actor’s almost identically, which made his telling even better.

“Kat?” Tony asked from the doorway. You looked up at him, surprised. You hadn’t heard him since you had been too busy listening to Loki’s telling of one of your favorite books. You waved Tony in. He came over and hugged you tightly. “I’m so sorry, Kat. We should never have left you there alone,” he told you, grief and blame in his voice. 

Uncle Tony _always_ blamed himself when someone he cared for was hurt.

“I’ll be ok, Uncle Tony,” you tried to reassure him. “After Tela and Fury come see me, I can even go home,” you added, acting stronger and more together than you were feeling.

“The nurses said your powers were blasted open,” he said, prying you for information.

“Which makes me feel like death, but it’s nothing rest won’t heal,” you were hoping on that point anyway.You really didn’t want to feel like death for the rest of your life.

Tela came up and kicked the boys out so she could do the investigation. She looked in your mind, which was horrible and nearly made both of you puke, and took her reading of your powers. You knew she was going to report to Fury the second she scurried away. Tony and Loki came back in when she left. Loki placed a cold hand on your forehead for a minute, telling you how green you looked. It was soothing, though, so you gave him a smile.

It was only a few minutes later when Fury arrived. “Tony, good, you’re here. You need to hear this too. Sit,” Fury ordered. “How are you doing, Kat?”

“Better once I can go home,” you replied predictably. You really hated hospitals and they all knew it. Tony sat next to you on your bed.

Fury nodded. He was always down to business, and didn’t disappoint you on that point now. “I have a confession to make. I hope you will forgive me, but I know that is too much to ask. Don’t blame Tony, the decisions weren’t his.”

You stared at him, confused. What had Fury ever done? He had let you stay here even though you weren’t a super and had taken you in and given you a family besides just Tony.

Fury continued. “This is not the first time your powers manifested,” he finally admitted, cutting to the chase. “At the time, we thought it was best to block them. You were in no shape to learn control at the time. You were a thirteen year old who had just lost her parents. We were going to unblock them when you turned eighteen, after you graduated and could focus full-time on control. There’s no choice now. Tela told me that all the blocks we put in place four years ago have been ripped away in such a way that she can’t put them back if she wanted to, which she doesn’t, since she didn’t agree with the idea in the first place. Apparently, though, when the blocks were blasted away, it ripped away part of what allows a super to control their gifts. Long story short, it’s going to be hard, if not impossible for you to ever learn proper control, at least not until you fully heal. I’m sorry, Kat. We should have told you,”

You glared at him, unable to control the anger and betrayal you felt.

“Kat, no!” Loki yelled, sensing your emotion flare.As objects in the room started to float around you.

You tried to reign in the emotions as pain wracked its way through your brain. You clutched your head, sobbing from the pain as all of the objects that had started floating crashed back down. Tony was busy putting out a pillow that had caught fire. Loki wrapped his arms around you gently, trying to calm you, to get your powers back under control.

“You should have told me” you told Fury between sobs.

“I should have,” he agreed. “But you didn’t see the inferno you created the night your parents died. There was a tornado of fire when we arrived. It took every firestarter, water, and ice super we had to get it under control until you passed out. I’m sorry for the decision that was made, but with that much power, we didn’t see the choice at the time. I’m sorry you’re hurting now and we will do everything in our power to help you learn to control your powers now.”

You knew now that was going to be a lot harder than it sounded. At thirteen, you had enough power to make a fire tornado while half-conscious at best. Powers only grew with age and time. You should have been spending the last four years learning to control your powers. Instead, they were four years stronger and your control was not. “Get better, Kat. We get to work once you’re well,” Fury told you. That was as much as the stern man was going to give you on the subject. He left without another word.

“Can we go home now?” you asked Loki desperately. “It’s so loud in here,” you felt like you were whining, but you really hated hospitals. Tony looked at you confused.

“Kat, it’s a hospital. It’s quiet almost to a fault.”

You shook your head. “Everyone’s chattering. It hurts,” Why couldn’t they hear it?

“That would be the telepathy, dear,” Loki told you gently. He held out his hand for you. “Here, let me shield you until we get you home,” you took his hand and felt the shield enclose around your mind. “I will teach you how to do that for yourself later,” he promised you when you gave him a look of such intense relief.

Tony was still confused when you looked over at him. “What?” you asked.

“You were... attacked...” stupid uncle using euphemisms “last night. I didn’t think you would be willing to accept the touch of any man for a long time, if ever, but you’re still treating him like your boyfriend,”

“He _is_ my boyfriend,” you reminded him sourly.Just because Tony barely tolerated Loki didn’t make Loki any less your boyfriend.

“He’s touching you and you’re not freaking out,” Tony replied, pushing the subject.

“He’s not going to hurt me. He’s asked permission. He’s careful and a gentleman. He’s not going to pressure or push. He’s safe because he’s my boyfriend and I trust and love him. You’re safe because you’re my uncle,” you explained. It was a hard explanation, you weren’t sure you had it right, but Tony seemed to accept it. He still glared at Loki.

“If you do anything to hurt her...”

“You’ll...kill you ?” Loki asked with a grin. “Evidently, there will be a line,”

“What happened to the...asshole?” you asked Tony, sneaking a grin to Loki who had used such a bad word earlier.

“He’s in the hospital. A vegetable. They’re not sure if he’s ever going to recover. If he does, he’s going straight to jail. Officer Patricia will make sure of it. She’s the one who’s Julia’s sister,” he added at your confused look.

One of the nurses came in. “Kat, dear, Fury came to talk to us. You’re cleared to go back to your rooms whenever you’re ready,” she told you.You nodded and would have scrambled off of the bed if Loki and Tony hadn’t both glared at you. Neither touched you, though, for which you was grateful. You could trust them, but restraining you on a bed would’ve been too much.

“Kat, I’m supposed to go on patrol. I can get Fury to let me off if you need me…” he hesitated. He hated shirking duty.

You shook your head. “I’ll be fine,” you reassured him.

He glared at Loki. “I will kill you if you do anything,” he hissed in no uncertain terms.

“Uncle Tony...” you really wish he’d stop threatening your boyfriend.

“Fine, just be careful, Kat. Stab him with one of your daggers first, ask questions later,” he reminded you.You knew it was logical for him to be more cautious after what happened, but Loki wasn’t going to hurt you.

“Go do work,” you grumbled at him. He nodded and finally left, still looking worried.

Once he was gone, Loki stood. He offered you his hand. “Shall we, my darling?” he asked. “Or I can carry you if you are not up to walking,” he offered. You took his hand and let him pull you to your feet.

“I’ll try walking first,” you told him. He nodded and didn’t look hurt or offended, for which you were grateful. You laid your hand on his arm, using him for support while you walked up to your room. We did at least take the elevator, which helped. He hesitated outside of your room, until you dragged him inside with you. “Can you find Beauty and the Beast?” you asked, pointing to your DVD rack. “I’m going to find some real clothes,” hospital clothes sucked. At least the gowns weren’t backless. You still wanted pants, though.

“Would you like me to-?” you shook your head at his offer to dress you with magic. You wanted to dress yourself this time. He nodded and went to your DVD rack to begin pulling movies. Not just the one you had asked for, but others you could watch today.

You went into your bedroom, closing the door firmly behind you. You changed into pajamas with long pants and a full shirt, not a tank top like you had been wearing. Maybe you weren’t a secure as you were pretending. You knew you were safe, but it still felt better to have full pants, to be more covered.

Loki smiled when he saw you come back. You felt his shield disappear from your mind and you panicked for a moment that the voices were going to return. Though you relaxed when you realized it was quiet in your suite, so you nodded that you were ok. Loki was already waiting for you on the couch. You sat down next to him and curled up against him, laying your head on his chest. “I nearly forgot,” he held up your bracelet with a shimmer of magic. “I kept it safe for you while you were in the infirmary.” you smiled.

“Thank you for saving it,” you told him and held up your wrist so he could put it back on. “And for saving me,” you added softly.

“You saved yourself, my wonderful, strong, courageous darling,” he reminded you and started the movie before he pulled a blanket up over you. You relaxed with him. He was safe. You were safe with him, and you would work through the rest together. You rested that day in his arms. There were no kisses, but that seemed perfectly ok with both of you.

You were beyond grateful that he was understanding.


	28. Chapter 28

“Darling, it’s getting late,” Loki told you late that evening. You were half asleep in his arms after your third or fourth movie together. You’d lost track of both movies and time at some point. You mumbled something in reply that wasn’t coherent to either of you and just shifted more comfortably to use him as a pillow. “Dearheart, that means you have to get up and go to bed,” he told you, chuckling softly at your antics. With more cajoling, he finally got you to wake the rest of the way up.

“Loki, you were comfortable,” you mumbled sleepily. He pulled you to your feet and wrapped an arm around your waist so you could lay your head on his shoulder while he steered you to your bed.

You recognized that he wasn’t carrying you.And some part of your mind realized the reason and appreciated that he wanted you to feel safe with him. And a male, even a safe male, carrying you to bed after what you’d just been through might cause a traumatic reaction.

“You will be more comfortable sleeping in a bed. You are still healing and a couch is not where you should sleep,” he reminded you gently. You knew he was right and you were too tired and raw to argue with him, though you wanted to. He helped you into your bed. You couldn’t help stiffening when he did.For all that he was safe, he was still male and the memories were too raw and new.All Loki did was make sure you were safe in your bed and tucked the blankets around you.“You will be alright, my darling. I know it’s hard now, but you will heal, and I will always be here for you.I will help you through it, whatever you need,” He kissed your forehead. “I love you sweetheart, now get some sleep,” he bid you warmly, gently.

“Are you staying?” you asked, more scared than you wanted to admit.You didn’t want to be alone.

“I will be on the couch,” he gestured to the sittingroom. He was close enough to stand guard, but not staying in your bedroom where you might not feel safe. He left your magic dagger sheath next to your pillow before he left. He also made sure to leave the door open a crack and you fell asleep listening to the sounds of the TV from the other room.

You should have known you wouldn’t be safe from the nightmares that night, especially when your defenses were already obliterated from everything else that had gone on. You weren’t surprised about the nightmares, not really. You were more surprised that it was the nightmare of the fire, not a nightmare about the party.

_You woke coughing and sat bolt upright in your bed. There was a strange orange glow surrounding youand too much heat. Way too much heat. The air was fogged. No, not fogged, filled with smoke. you jumped out of the bed. You fell to your knees instantly, coughing from the smoke. It took a minute of sucking in the cleaner air on the floor of your room before you were able to move. You got back to your feet and stumbled a few steps toward your door._

_You had to get downstairs._

_Downstairs was the way out._

_You vaguely heard laughter from outside as the villains celebrated as you managed to get your door open._

_You stared in horror when you saw that your entire world was covered in flames._

_You turned to go back in your room, to try to get out through the window, but the way was cut off there. On your knees, you made your way to the staircase. It was the only way to breathe in all of the smoke. It was a fight to breathe and you were terrified you were going to die._

_That was the only thought that kept you going._

_You had to get out or you would die._

_You clutched onto the banister for support and ran down the stairs as fast as you could. They would give out soon if you didn't move quickly. The stairs led straight into the foyer._

_You stopped moving and just screamed when you entered the foyer. You fell to your knees again, sobbing at the scene you saw there._

_Both of your parents were tied to your dining room chairs. Chairs that didn't belong in this room, but had been dragged there for this purpose. They were both dead already, gunshot wounds in their heads._

_You managed to stumble to your feet and run to them anyway. You had to untie them. Had to try to save them. Had to get them out of here. You shook them, trying to wake them, though you knew better. You knew they were dead, you were just so out of it from smoke inhalation and horror that you weren't thinking clearly._

_Something crashed through your brain, yelling for you to get out of there or you would die. Some sense of self preservation kicked in, but not before you got one final look at your mom with a bullet through her head. “NO!” you screamed, somehow finding the air as that force crashed through youagain. The fire flared up around you, a vortex of flames, which you were at the center of. Everything that wasn’t nailed down to the floor was floating around you, sucked into the tornado of flames that surrounded you. You was screaming and crying, somehow able to find air in all of the chaos._

_There was a loud crash. You raised your arms to protect yourself, but you were thrown off of your feet. One of the wooden structure pillars that supported...something... in the house was pinning youto the ground, burning the leg it was trapping. Still you screamed, trying to get out from under the burning pillar trapping you ._

_You felt the water and the ice attacking your fire protections. You screamed for help, knowing someone was out there. They just couldn’t hear you. The only thing you could do was strengthen the fire tornado, to tell someone that you were still there. They had to come save you and rescue your parents too._

_Tony came bursting in the front door in his ironman suit.You raised your hand and screamed for him to come help you. He rushed to your side and threw the pillar off of you, his suit was fireproof, so of course he could move the pillar. He swept youoff of the floor into his arms. “You have to save mom and dad,” you begged him with tears flowing down your cheeks. It was getting hard to breathe again. He took in the scene and shook his head._

_“They’re beyond our help,” he told you after Jarvis assessed the scene.He ran back out of the house with you in his arms while you screamed for him to save your mama. The flames grew even higher as he flew through them, getting you to safety. Once you were safe in the fresh air away from the flames, your connection to them was severed. The tornado vanished as you passed out in Tony’s arms._

You were pulled out of the nightmare by ice and frost. Your eyes shot open and you were panting, out of breath and in so much pain you thought you might throw up from it. Loki was standing next to your bed, holding you against him. You were both covered in frost. “I’m sorry,” he told you as he let you go. You realized you were shaking and shivering from the cold he’d inflicted on you to pull you from the nightmare. “It was the only way to wake you,” he told you sheepishly. He didn’t like waking you that way with what you’d been through, but he hadn’t had a choice.You didn’t mind, though, especially as you could still smell the smoke. “At least you have good aim, even when asleep,” he mused as he indicated the still-smoldering trash can.

“Did you see?” you asked hoarsely. Great, you had been screaming in the real world again.

He nodded. “I believe telepathy will be the first of yours powers we focus on,” he replied dryly. “Do not fear for the others. I was able to shield them,” he added at your concerned expression.Of course he had shielded the others.

“You didn’t have to do that...” that sounded like pretty big magic.You were relying far too heavily on him.

“Yes, I did, darling. If Fury actually understood how strong your powers are and the true extent of the problem that you cannot control them, he would seek external methods of controlling your powers, and I do not wish that for you.” You didn’t know what he meant by ‘external methods’, but you knew that you didn’t want to find out either. Fury would do what was necessary to protect the supers in his care.

“Thank you,” you murmured, accepting the help he had given you. He kissed your forehead. “At least I know what had been tampered with now in that memory.”All of your memories of having powers had been erased.

“Would you like to go get a cup of tea?” he asked.

You nodded almost desperately. “I need to change out of these wet pajamas first, though,” you added. The frost he had woken you with had melted. You stood from the bed and it took every ounce of your strength and bravery to hold your hand out to him and ask. “Would you?” your voice shook when you made the request. You were way more scared than you wanted to admit, but you trusted him and loved him.

He saw your hesitation and fear. “Are you sure?” he asked. You nodded. He took your hand and the familiar green glow flew over you. You found myself wearing a t-shirt that was too big, pajama pants that were also too big and too long, and Loki’s robe. You realized the pajamas must’ve been his too. He must’ve been feeling overprotective to surround you in his scent. You didn’t mind, it made youfeel safe.

You didn’t drop his hand as you walked downstairs with him. You did clutch on to it tighter when you began to overhear the thoughts and dreams of the supers. You weren’t stable enough for that and almost ran back upstairs to hide in your quiet room. “Ignore them, love. They can’t hurt you,” Loki whispered.

“Shows what you know,” you grumbled at him, reaching up to rub your aching head. Your mind was wide open to any passing thoughts. Loki settled you on the couch in the common room, wrapped in a blanket while he went to make the tea. He came back too soon, so you figured he had used magic to make the tea. You didn’t mind, you didn’t want to be alone.You took the cup from him gratefully and he took his spot on the other side of the couch.

He let you finish your tea and relax before he spoke again. “Time to learn how to shield your mind, dearheart” he told you gently.

You just gaped at him in open-mouthed confusion. “Did you forget the part where I can’t use my powers, or do anything remotely resembling control?” you asked him. He had told you that much earlier.

He smiled at you understandingly.He was so gentle and patient when he taught.“No, I did not, but this is a trick similar to learning how to speak to me telepathically when you were powerless,” he explained. “It does not take magic, only a little imagination,” he added. You sighed, fearing this was going to hurt, but eventually nodded and sat up from your comfy slump on the couch, so you could sit up and face him properly. You felt him drop the shielding on his own mind that kept you safe from hearing his thoughts. You didn’t focus on what they were, but you heard them like a background buzzing, like the TV on in the background while you were doing homework. “Block it out, love,” he told you softly, gently.

“I don’t know how!” you whined at him, nearly in tears from frustration at your stupid powers.

“Yes, you do. It is part of who you are. Hide that part of your mind from the others, just like you would hide memories you didn’t want me to see from me,” he bid you, reminding you of the lessons on how to speak to him before you had powers. You tried to calm your breathing, tried to imagine you were safe and it was quiet, but it just wasn’t working.

Loki took your hands and pulled you into his mind. He showed you then how to create barriers around your mind, how to organize it so that the part of your mind that was hearing the thoughts was locked in a separate room of your mind from the rest of you.He was right. It was just like the organization technique of hiding thoughts and memories from him that you hadn’t wanted him to see. Now you were just hiding that part of your mind from yourself, unless you opened the door and wanted to see them.

He released you from his mind and you struggled, but eventually got the trick of it. You knew you had gotten the hang of it when you couldn’t hear his thoughts anymore, unless you specifically focused on them. “Very well done, darling. I knew you could do it,” he grinned at you with open pride in his gaze. 

You gave him a smile in return. “Thank you,” you told him softly.You vaguely noticed when his shields went back up, since the background noise in your mind vanished.

“So what would you like to do now?” he asked gently. You could tell that he wanted you to rest, but he wouldn’t force you to return to sleep and potentially face the nightmares again. He would let you choose what was best for you.

And you were beyond grateful for it.

You couldn’t face that nightmare again, though.

“Can we go back upstairs?” you asked softly. You didn’t feel safe down here. It was too exposed and you were still in too much pain and your powers were scraped raw. You didn’t want to hurt anyone.

Loki nodded and offered you his hand. The thoughts of the others in the compound didn’t bother you on the way back to your suite, for which you were grateful. You sat on your couch watching movies for the rest of the night.

You realized partway through that Loki was a lot more tired that he had been letting on. You bet he hadn’t slept in at least two days. He had fallen asleep on your couch, his head on the cushion next to you, where he was just going to ‘relax’, or that’s what he had told you. You ran your fingers through his long hair as he slept. After a few minutes of that, you grinned, and turned on the couch to face him properly, then began the work of braiding his hair.


	29. Chapter 29

You woke to grumblings from your boyfriend. “What the Hel has happened to my hair?!?” you heard him as he stood to go look in the mirror. You laughed as you sat up to watch him from where you had slumped over on the couch to doze.

“You fell asleep in front of your girlfriend while possessing long hair,” you replied while you laughed. Your braids had come out quite nice actually.And Loki with braids was definitely hot.Not that you cared much about hotness factor at the moment.Just because you didn’t want sex, didn’t mean you couldn’t appreciate the view.

Loki looked over your work in the mirror. He was half-terrified for his precious hair and half-checking to see how you’d done with the braids.He finally sighed and relaxed.“Nicely done, Lady,” he finally replied with a smirk and a bow.

“You don’t mind?” you asked nervously. It had been soothing to do, so you hoped you would have the opportunity again. You didn’t want him upset over you messing up his precious hair, though.

“Not at all. I was simply surprised,” he reassured you.He had a soft, fond smile on his face when he continued.“We often wear our hair braided for events such as feasts and battles. The style you chose was different, but it is definitely not something I mind,” he added. You had made very simple braids, but maybe he’d teach you to braid his hair properly at some point. It had also taken you longer than you’d like since you kept having to restart so it would be perfect.

“Good. It was fun,” you told him with a grin.

He smiled back at you. “Then I mind even less,” he told you warmly before you stood and went to hug him, wrapping your arms around his slim waist.

You didn’t bother changing to go to breakfast. It was a Sunday morning. Most of the supers slept in anyway, and they were all family. Plus, you were wearing Loki’s clothes, which were too big on youanyway. Loki looked put-upon when you wouldn’t let him put his hair back down, but he was laughing.He’d only been teasing. You knew he’d blame you anyway when the others teased him for it. “I must love you,” he told you when he let you drag him downstairs with his hair still braided.

“I worked _really_ hard on that,” you grumbled at him, giggling. He sighed, but followed along after you anyway.

Even Helene gave him a smirk when she saw him. Loki wouldn’t be mean to the housekeeper, though, so she got away with it without being stabbed. 

You ate our breakfast in peace, but it wasn’t long before the other supers started coming down for theirs. Tony came down too and Loki got up to let Tony join you at your table.

“Hey, Kat, how are you holding up?” he asked gently. He was walking on egg shells around you, unlike Loki. 

You gave him a smile, trying to reassure him that you really were ok.He didn’t need to know you still felt dirty. Or violated.Or raw. “I’m doing a lot better,” you told him, and actually wasn’t lying. It was straining to hear all of the buzzing of people’s thoughts, but it wasn’t as bad since Loki had helped youlearn to deal with them, it was just an annoying background noise at the back of your mind.You were doing a lot better, which was saying something about how poorly you _had_ been dong.

He looked you over, looking for the lie, and was finally relieved when he couldn’t see one. He then looked you over more closely, scrutinizing something. “What the hell are you wearing?” he asked.

Oh.That’s what he was whining about this time.

“Pajamas,” you replied dryly. That was obvious.

He glared, but thankfully dropped the issue.He turned to Loki.“Nice look, princess,” he said to Loki instead, making fun of Loki for his hair.He and Loki still didn’t completely get along.Though they usually weren’t completely antagonistic.

“Uncle Tony...” you warned.They were supposed to behave.

“Fine, I’ll leave your stupid boyfriend alone. For now,” he glared at Loki.

“Uncle Tony, enough!” you snapped at him.

Unfortunately, Tony’s bowl of cereal decided to burst into flame at that moment. 

“Lock it down, Kat!” he snapped back at you.

You glared at him across the table. “Leave Loki alone!” you snarled at him. You finally bit back the emotions, trying to calm yourself to ease the ache in your head.

The bowl of cereal, now reduced to a bowl of milk, was still on fire.

“Darling, he does not mean it,” Loki told you softly, gently. He was trying to calm you so the fire would go away.“He simply dislikes me because I am courting you,”

“I know,” you told him tiredly.You were tired of their argument.Tired of feeling like shit.Tired of the chaos your life had become. “That still doesn’t make it ok,” you added that part to Tony.

He nodded.Antagonizing you right now wasn’t the best idea and he finally seemed to realize that. “I’m sorry, Kat. I just don’t like you dating anyone,”

You nodded, but put your head in your hands to rub your temples, trying to ease the pain.“Are you working today?” you asked after a minute, trying to change the subject as you looked back up.

“Of course. I think that’s all I do anymore,” he grumbled

“That’s because you’re too good at your job,” you reminded him.

“Flattering imp,” he laughed at you and gave you a hug goodbye before he had to go to work.

“So what are we doing today?” Loki asked as he reclaimed his seat.

“We’re sitting on the couch and I’m studying,” you told him. He pouted.

“But that’s boring!” he whined.

“Loki, I have my AP lit exam tomorrow, bio on Tuesday, Latin on Wednesday, and history on Friday” you reminded him, trying to be patient with the bored go. “I was only supposed to take a couple hours off of studying for the party. These exams are really important.” You had explained the whole AP thing to him a couple weeks before when all talk during those classes had turned to the exams. “I promise I’ll play with you all day Saturday,” you added. Again.

You’d had this conversation already too.

“Fine...” he sighed. He still pouted, but at least he wouldn’t fight you, not when this was so important to you. You went to sit on the couch in the common room.

“Can you get my school bag?” you asked him. You didn’t feel like walking back upstairs to get it and it wasn’t a strain for him to summon your things from upstairs. “And the big scary binder of AP lit notes?” Both items appeared next to your spot on the couch. He sat down, but still looked pouty.

Thankfully, you had prepared for a bored trickster of a boyfriend. You dug in your bag and pulled out the wrapped box you had hidden in there and handed it to him. “This should help keep you entertained while I study,” you told him brightly, taunting him into leaving you alone.

“When did you-?” He asked, shocked.You had the feeling he was amazed you had escaped his watch long enough to make a purchase.

“While you were grounded. Nat was pissed I made her come shopping with me, but I let her drive my car, so she forgave me. I figured you were going to be a problem when exam time came around,” you stuck your tongue at him so he knew that you was joking.Though he was going to be a problem.His pouting and bored expression told you that clearly enough.

“Thank you,” he told you looking touched that you had thought to give him a gift. He opened the box to find a handheld video game system and an assortment of games. “I appreciate the gift, but what is it?” he asked, puzzled by the Midgardian technology.

You laughed and showed him how to turn on the system and explained that it was a game. “This one is about a hero named Mario who has to save a princess,” you told him, opening one of the games and showing him how to put it in to the system.

Soon, he was entranced and contentedly playing his new game. You smiled at how adorable he was and got to work prepping for your exams.

Things were quiet until the super kids decided to play Superhero Musical at the other end of the room. You managed to drone it out while you were working through a complicated sample question, until the singing began. Your head jerked up as memories of the party flooded through you. You shrieked as pain roared through your head and flames burst up around the room full of flying objects.

“Turn that off!” Loki shouted at the kids, who in a moment of brilliance, did exactly as they were told for once. Loki turned to you, wrapping you in his cool arms. “Shh, love, it’s ok. You’re safe. The party is over. You’re at home with your family,” he soothed, rubbing your back, petting your hair until you finally calmed.

Your breathing eased and you finally forced yourself to calm. “I’m sorry,” you told him softly, embarrassed.

“It is not your fault,” he replied gently. One of the kids was a firestarter and had already taken care of the flames. Somehow nothing was ruined. Loki let you go and you looked over at the kids.

“Sorry!” you called to them. They gave you waves and laughs in reply. This compound could be kind of chaotic and it wasn’t uncommon for powers to go out of control. It was common enough that they just waved it off.

“We were due for a bit of excitement! Exam season is usually so boring!” one of them called. You relaxed at their understanding.

“But maybe we’ll pick a different movie,” another one called. That seemed like an excellent idea.

You had gotten tired of looking at English questions and asked Loki if he would get your other binders so you could study something else for awhile. He did so without complaint and went back to his game once you were resettled with your studying.

You were actually feeling good about upcoming exams when Fury came up to see you that evening. You looked up at him confused. He usually didn’t come to this wing unless something was wrong. “Uncle Tony?” you asked him, jumping to your feet. That was the only reason you could think that he’d be coming to see you: if something had happened to your uncle

“He’s fine. He’s out on patrol with the team. They just called in to say that all’s quiet,” Fury told you .You sighed in relief. You hated it when Tony got injured out on patrol. It didn’t happen often because of his suit, but it still happened occasionally. “Tony and some of the others in the lab have been working on this for the past two days straight and we finally got the finishing touches complete,” he got to the point, handing you a thick metal...bracelet? It looked nearly identical to the one on Loki’s wrist, the one that limited his powers. “Anytime you are out of the compound while you’re learning control you are to wear it,” Fury told you firmly, leaving no room for disobedience. “It will block your powers completely, or so I’ve been promised. You will learn control, Kat, and this isn’t a punishment, but your powers are too strong and too deadly when they’re out of control. I can’t lock you up here away from the world. You need to go to school and have a life,” you nodded, but weren’t sure about this. You knew someone had told him how powerful you really were, despite Loki trying to protect you.Fury hesitated, but continued. “I also need to protect this compound and everyone who comes here to learn control. The city can shut us down if I let untrained supers out in the world. It’s a compromise, Kat,” he insisted.

“I understand,” you replied. You did understand, even if you didn’t like it.

“We really should test it...” Fury said.Though you didn’t know how to call up your powers on purpose, as you were trying to avoid using them until your mind had healed enough to attempt control, or at least not excruciating pain any time they were activated. “Also don’t tell anyone that we have these. They’ll want to round up all of the supers and bind their powers, and that’s not a good idea. Besides, they’re a fairly new invention. We only just perfected it for Loki’s,”

“I trust your work,” you replied quickly, and you definitely wouldn’t tell anyone about the gadget.

Fury finally agreed that it would be ok without testing and left you alone. you sat back on the couch, looking over the metal bangle on your wrist.

“Are you alright, darling?” Loki asked when he was gone. You could hear the concern in his voice.

“You’re just stuck being security for us while we’re out for awhile. Besides my daggers, of course,” you gave him a tentative smile, hoping this would work at least well enough for you to make it through exams. You hadn’t known Tony could make these kind of gadgets. You thought he had been able to block Loki’s magic because it was magic not powers. Tony was a genius, though, so apparently he was capable of anything. Besides, people weren’t supposed to know about them, so of course you hadn’t been told before.

You went back to your lit notes and Loki got back to his game. It was about 10pm when your books and bag disappeared. You glanced up at Loki. “Where’d my notes go?” you asked him, knowing he was behind the disappearance.

“Your room,” he replied calmly as he packed up his game.

“And why are they there? I need them here where the studying is occurring,” you reminded your silly trickster. You couldn’t study without your notes.

“The key to doing well on an exam is to get plenty of rest and eat a good breakfast,” he told youquite calmly and innocently.

“Surely another hour of studying-” you protested.

He just gave you a look.

“You have done nothing else all day, darling. You are still healing, and need rest,” he told youfirmly.

You sighed.You knew a lost cause when you heard one. “I just want to do well on these,” you told him softly.

“And you will. I have every confidence that you will pass them with flying colors. Why don’t we have some ice cream before bed?” he blatantly bribed. You laughed at his blatancy, but nodded.

“Fine, pesky trickster,” you replied. He vanished his game and took your hands to pull you to your feet so you could go raid the freezer. You found a pint of your favorite right in the front of the freezer in plain sight. It hadn’t gotten stolen because Helene had written your name on it. You smiled at it, grabbed the pint and two spoons, and carried it all to the diningroom.

“You are not getting bowls too?” Loki asked.

“You can kiss me, but not share a container of ice cream?” you replied with a smile. He laughed and came to join you, sitting at your usual table, eating ice cream directly from the container. It was nice to have a normal end to your evening.


	30. Chapter 30

You woke after only a couple hours of sleep, feeling scared and alone. You hadn’t gotten sucked into the nightmare of the fire or the party, but you were still uneasy and didn’t want to go back to sleep, especially not alone, where it wasn’t safe. So you padded out of your room in your pajamas and made your away across the hall. You were sure you would be turned away, but you opened Loki’s sitting-room door anyway. You made your way to his bedroom and cracked the door open. His eyes opened when you did and he looked over at you, half-glaring that he had been woken. You weren’t actually sure he was entirely awake.

“Can I come in?” you asked him softly, scared he would turn you away. He hesitated. You knew he was thinking of the party, of how careful he’d been not to push you, to make you uncomfortable, in the couple of days it had been since the party. And now you were asking to join him in his bed. Only for sleep, but still... “Please?” you added, your voice a whisper, and that whisper betraying your fear.

He pulled back the covers on the other half of the bed and rolled over on his side, facing away from where you would be. “Fine,” he relented. “Just do not tell your uncle. And close the door,” he grumbled, half asleep. He wasn’t being malicious, but Loki didn’t do well in the morning, or with being woken.Or with letting little mortals wear away his better judgement.

You closed the door and crept into the bed. He had his back to you and stayed that way, trying to be as proper as possible.You hindered with that by curling against his back, wrapping your arms around him like he was a giant teddy bear. You finally felt safe, despite all logic, and were finally able to get some sleep.

Your alarm woke you both the next morning. You found that you were still wrapped around Loki, holding onto him for safety. You blushed when you realized what you had done while half asleep.The thought startled you and you scrambled out of the bed, turning all sorts of shades of red. Loki followed behind you, concern on his face. “Love? Are you ok?” he asked gently.You nodded, trying to reassure you both.Loki sighed heavily, looking at the fear in your eyes. “I should not have let you stay...”

“No, I’m glad you did,” you replied quickly. It had been what you needed.“Just embarrassed that I asked, embarrassed that I slept in your bed with you. It’s not...appropriate, but it’s what I needed to be able to get any sleep.” You knew you weren’t explaining this well. You’d napped in the same bed as Loki before and you knew it was the party that had you on edge now. 

Loki wrapped you in a hug, now that he knew what the problem was.“I am glad you came to mefor help. It was soothing to have your heartbeat next to mine, to know that you were safe,” he replied gently. He kissed the top of your head. “Now go get ready for school,” you nodded and slipped out of his room to get dressed. You wished yet again that girls’ uniforms included pants instead of skirts, but there was no choice, so you had to get over it. You also hoped that the school wouldn’t be too terrible after what you’d done to the star football player, but you didn’t have time to dwell on that. 

You looked around for your schoolbag and lit notes, only to find that they were missing.You glared at the spot where they should have been. A note came fluttering down into your hands.<Your breakfast is getting cold> Silly trickster stole your stuff.

You sighed and went to go find him, your breakfast, and your notes. He was waiting at your table in the dining room for you.Your notes and bag were there too, as was your breakfast. At least you had an easy hunt to find all of your possessions.

You smiled brightly when you realized that Loki had convinced Helene to make you pancakes for breakfast. You grinned at him while you devoured them. “I love you,” you told him between bites of pancake. He was adorable and so thoughtful and you didn’t know what you had done to deserve such treatment.

“I love you too, your darling,” he replied with a smile.

Tony came to bother you before you left. “Did Fury come talk to you yesterday?” he asked, sounding worried. You rolled your eyes and held up your wrist with the bangle on it as you nodded.

“He did,” you said dryly.Obviously your powers were blocked and you were cleared to leave thanks to the bangle.

“Good. It’s not a permanent solution. It’s also not a punishment,” Tony reminded you.

“I know, Fury told me yesterday,”

Tony gave you a warm smile. “I’m glad we could come up with something so you don’t have to stay cooped up here while you’re learning,” he was extremely proud of himself.“Good luck on your AP exams. They’re this week, right?” he asked. He tried to keep up with what was going on in your life, though it was hard with how busy he was.

You nodded with a small smile.“AP English Lit this morning,” you agreed, then glanced at the clock.“I should get going so I can get some last minute cramming in.” Tony nodded and gave you a hug once you got up from the table, wishing you luck when he did.

You handed Loki your keys as you left the dining room so he could drive you to school. You usually walked with him, but you were stressed about the exam, so you wanted him to drive.Loki didn’t comment about you wanting him to drive.Instead he chose to comment about your stress over the exam. “You did not tell me that you are going to be worried all week over these tests,” he grumbled.

“I told you they’re important,” you reminded him as you got in your car. “And that I’ll play with you all day Saturday to make up for it.” you reminded him. Again. You sighed. “What am I going to do with you when I’m in college?” College was harder than high school, especially if you were going to be a doctor. Loki could be incorrigible when he was bored and you’d be spending a lot of time studying.

“Hopefully continue to love me,” he replied with a smirk.

“Always,” you replied brightly.That part of your future you didn’t plan on changing.

Ever.

“Very well. I will not complain about how much stress you are putting yourself under. Provided you do not complain about my plans for Saturday,” he gave you a mischievous grin.

You sighed; it was the best offer you were going to get.“Fine. I won’t complain, but it better be fun,” you warned him.You promised to spend the day with him and after the week of hell exams you wanted the day to be fun.

“It will be quite enjoyable,” Loki replied, his smirk still in place.You didn’t quite trust his words and hoped it wouldn’t just be fun for him.

*

The week flew by and managed to drag at the same time. You spent every moment you could cramming for exams and were stressed out mess the entire week. You barely slept and there were dark smudges under your eyes by the end of the week. Loki seemed less and less happy about the exams as the week went on, but he kept his word and didn’t complain. He did badger you into sleeping and eating. The only way you even got naps was when he either let you use him as a pillow or plushie. He didn’t mind that part, though, but kept trying to make you stay longer and actually rest.

He was only grudgingly allowed in the library where the exams took place during the exams. He had to stay at the circulation desk with the proctor of the exam, so he couldn’t be accused of helping you cheat.

At least since you were trapped in AP exams all week, the students couldn’t be upset with you over the football jock.They didn’t see you and you didn’t see anyone over your notes.The entire school was a nervous wreck over exams.

You nearly sagged in relief on Friday afternoon when your last exam was over.

Loki made sure you got back to your car the second classes were over on Friday afternoon and nearly shoved you into it. “Loki,” you grumbled, tired and brain-dead after a week of hell exams.

“I put up with you killing yourself all week without complaining, because these tests were important to you. No more,” he told you firmly. He drove you back home more quickly than you would have liked, and was opening your car door for you before you could even think to open it yourself. Gods, you were tired. He hauled you out of the car, his movements were still gentle, but insistent. “I let you kill yourself for these exams. Let me take care of you now,” you should have fought him, but you nodded wearily. You’d let him do this today and figure out how to do something equally caring for him later. He swept you up into his arms and carried you into the compound. You just laid your head on his shoulder, too drained to do anything else. He set you on your feet in your bedroom and steered youtowards your bathroom door. “There’s a hot bubble bath and a novel waiting for you. Go relax, darling,” he bid you, propelling you through the door and closing it firmly behind you, with him still on the other side.

He wouldn’t put you in a situation where you’d be uncomfortable.So he was taking care of you, while making sure you felt safe about it. 

You sighed and couldn’t remember a time you’d ever been ordered so firmly to relax before. However, the hot bath was inviting and so full of bubbles, so you did as you were told and climbed in, though you hadn’t taken a bath in years. There were candles floating around the room and the promised book was on the ledge of the tub. It was a fluff novel you’d been meaning to read, something light that didn’t take much brain power.

You opened the book, intending to relax.You shrieked and dropped it in the water instead when it started talking. You fished it out quickly, cursing, but it wasn’t hurt at all. Loki must’ve put a spell on it. You cracked it open and the words began again. It was Loki’s voice, reading the story. You smiled and set it on the ledge, open, so you could hear his words while you enjoyed the hot relaxing water. The water never cooled, though you knew you had been in there long enough that it should have.

/Darling/ you heard Loki’s voice in your mind. /Helene will be quite upset with me if I let you miss dinner/

 _I’m coming_ You thought back at him, using the trick of a mortal mind, not telepathy to reply. You hadn’t used your powers all week and was finally starting to feel less raw and ripped open because of them. Tomorrow would be the last day of freedom before you had to start training hard on control. But that was a problem for Sunday. Tonight, you got out of the tub to find fluffy pajamas waiting for you on the sink. Once you were dressed, you left the bathroom to find Loki waiting for you on the other side of the door. He gave you a real smile then.

“You look like you are feeling better,” he told you warmly, looking extraordinarily proud of himself.

“I am. Thank you.”

Helene had made one of your favorite meals for dinner. You had a feeling that she had noticed how stressed you were too. You thanked her sincerely for it, still surprised by how many people here legitimately cared about you. You spent the evening with the rest of the supers watching Avengers movies. They skipped Superhero Musical in consideration to your reaction to it last time.

This time when they looked to Loki to say the lines from the Avengers movie, he got off the couch the first time to say them instead of making them harass him to do it. You got to laugh at his silly antics, which was just as relaxing as anything else he could have planned. You did all watch Frozen and Loki looked more and more upset when the supers kept calling him ‘Elsa’ for the rest of the night. you just laughed and he finally thawed.

It was fairly early when Loki convinced you to go to bed. You didn’t complain too hard, though. You were exhausted after a week of hell and only gave him a token resistance. You promised yourself that that night you would be brave and stay in your own bed and not go seeking comfort from him.

You hoped you would be able to keep that promise to yourself.

It wasn’t fair to Loki to keep having to take care of you.


	31. Chapter 31

You somehow managed to keep your vow to yourself that you wouldn’t go seeking Loki’s comfort. At least you did until a disturbance woke you from the light doze you had finally managed. Your bangle was on your bedside table, so your powers were wide open. You were supposed to practice being without it, especially in the quiet in the middle of the night.

You sat up, trying to figure out what you were sensing, what had woken you. You felt the distressed thoughts coming from the direction of Loki’s suite and jumped out of bed in an instant, running to go help him. Loki never lost control. Whatever it was, it had to be bad for you to feel his thoughts and emotions. 

You were grateful in the moment you burst through his door that he left it unlocked, and more grateful that his shields recognized you and let you through with no hesitation.

You found him tossing and turning in his bed, trapped in a nightmare. You knew then how he had felt all the nights he had seen you in the same state. You hated the feeling of helplessness and ran over and jumped up onto his bed, desperate to do something to help him. You grabbed him your the shoulders, holding him to the bed to keep him from thrashing. “Loki! Wake up!” you bid him, shaking him, but he was lost to the nightmare and couldn’t hear you. You took a breath and moved your hands, grabbing his bare arms instead. You knew from your own studies on super powers that physical contact increased abilities.

You hoped that it would work now. 

Loki needed you.

A second later you were sucked into his nightmare and saw what he was seeing.

_You were lying on the floor in front of him. It was strange to see yourself, but you did as if you were no more than a ghost observing the scene. You were on your back on the floor, struggling to breathe.There was a wound in your chest, near your heart, if not through your heart. The blood was gushing through Loki’s hand that was placed there, as he was trying to stop the flow of your blood. Your blood just kept pouring through all of his efforts as he knelt beside you, his entire body glowing as he threw every drop of healing magic he had in to you, but it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough. You were fading too quickly and his power couldn’t keep up._

The nightmare let you go and Loki bolted up, clutching you to him before he even truly realized you were there.He gripped you tight enough to bruise, as if, if he loosened his grip, he would lose you. “I’m here, Loki. I’m safe. It was just a dream,” you told him softly, letting him clutch on to you, despite the pain of his crushing grip. You stroked his hair, soothingly, knowing that it was one of Loki’s weaknesses.

“You were dying in my arms. I was there and couldn’t stop it, couldn’t save you,” he sounded so lost and scared.You could hear the tears in his voice.

“It was a dream, Loki,” you reminded him gently. “It was just a dream.I’m safe and right here. Not bleeding, not dying, not hurt at all.” He finally relaxed once it clicked that you really were there and really were safe. He loosened his grip on you, but seemed reluctant to let you go. “Love, I don’t mind cuddling, but can you let me move a little?” you asked him, blushing. You had straddled him to hold him down and keep him from thrashing and hurting one or both of you. He had sat up and now you was stuck straddling his lap, which you was not comfortable with given recent events. He hesitated, but did loosen his grip enough for you to move and curl up against his side. You sat like that in silence, with him petting your hair for his reassurance. “Would you like to get a cup of tea?” you asked him with a tentative smile. It’s what you did after you had nightmares, it might help him too. He looked down at your smile and gave you a tentative one of his own.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” he replied softly. You got out of the bed first, and helped him to his feet, wrapping your arms around him. He held you to him as you walked downstairs to go find his tea. He wouldn’t leave the kitchen while you were making it, instead perching on one of the stools so he could watch you, like if he let you out of his sight for a moment, you would be lost to him forever.

You curled up on the couch with your tea and watched news while he ran his fingers through your hair. You knew he was still upset when he started braiding your hair. You didn’t stop him though. If it made him feel better...

You ended up dozing off in his arms while he braided your hair. It wasn’t a bad way to fall asleep at all.

You both woke when you heard voices coming down the stairs. The other supers were waking. You both got up and went to get breakfast, pretending you hadn’t been sleeping together on the couch. “Thank you for last night, darling,” Loki told you as you were eating your breakfast. “You did not have to come to my rescue.” He sounded sheepish and you realized that his culture would have seen that as a vulnerability and a weakness.

“Of course I did. I love you and you were suffering,” you reminded him gently.You wouldn’t have let him suffer alone. He gave you a real smile at that and it was a relief to see that he was finally getting back to normal. His smile then changed to his Cheshire cat grin.

That did _not_ seem like a good sign.

“Eat up quickly, my love. You promised that you would play with me all day and you would not complain,” he jangled your car keys in front of you, before your mind had the opportunity to come to the wrong conclusion at his words. “We must be leaving soon to make the appointment,”

“What appointment?” you asked him, concerned by whatever he was planning.

He just grinned wider. “You shall see.” Breakfast was over quickly and Loki summoned your bangle from your bedside table and handed it to you. You sighed, but dutifully put it on. Loki jumped to his feet like an over excited puppy and pulled you to your feet and started leading you to the door.

“Loki, we can’t go anywhere in our pajamas,” you reminded him, planting your feet. You were not letting him drag you outside in your pajamas. The green glow of his magic flew over you and he was in his black suit while you were in jeans and a t-shirt. You looked up at him confused; you were _way_ under dressed, but he didn’t care to explain. You sighed heavily, this was going to be a long day of not being able to complain at him.

He drove you across the city to a giant fancy-looking building. It was mostly glass and looked way too fancy for you to go in there. Especially dressed like a high school student, which you were. You then saw the sign over the door: Venus Spa and Salon. “No way, Loki, no no no,” you told him. You were _not_ a spa person.

“You promised,” he reminded you too jovially. He was enjoying this. Smug bastard.You sighed. He was right, and since it wouldn’t actually hurt you, you couldn’t very well deny him.

“Fine...” you replied grumpily. That wasn’t a complaint. He just grinned at you in reply. He came over and opened your car door for you. He offered you his arm after he helped you out of the car and led you into the giant scary building. “How is this fun for you?” you asked him. He was going to be bored while they did who knows what to you. You just hoped that part wouldn’t take too long.

“Knowing that you are finally properly relaxing is very fun,” he replied warmly. He then held up his game system. “Besides, Mario will keep me company until they are finished with you.” You walked up to the reception desk and you was feeling more and more under dressed and out of place as you saw everyone around you.

“Mr. Odinson, Miss Stark, welcome!” the receptionist greeted you when she saw you. You weren’t surprised that you were known even though you’d never been here before. You had been on the news a couple of times recently, and you was already known as Ironman’s niece. Fame had consequences after all.“You’re one lucky lady, Miss Stark. Your boyfriend booked you our most deluxe package,” she beamed. You tried to give her a smile, but you were dreading this.Their deluxe package sounded awful.

“We will take excellent care of her, Mr. Odinson,” another receptionist told him. “We have a lounge right this way where you can relax.” Loki lifted your hand and kissed your knuckles.

“Enjoy, darling,” he told you with a grin. He went with the receptionist to the lounge.

You were led to hours of ‘pampering’. Some of it was actually enjoyable, though, you had to admit it. You did have to convince them at one point that the bangle could not come off under any circumstances. They shrugged at your eccentricity, but didn’t fight you on it. There was a full body massage, a manicure, pedicure, your hair was cut and styled, and your makeup was professionally done. They also fitted you for a blue sundress and summer sandals to go with it. No wonder Loki had let you come here looking so grungy. He knew you were going to be given pretty clothes to go with your day of pampering.

They finally led you to the lounge where Loki was waiting hours after you’d arrive. He stood the moment you entered the room and the expression on his face made the whole experience worth it. He came over and bowed over your hand to kiss it. “You are ravishing, my darling,” he told you with such sincerity that you couldn’t dream if disbelieving him, god of lies or no.

“Thank you, love,” you replied while the receptionists who were watching all melted from second-hand romance. The other waiting guys in the room were looking uncomfortable, like they were being shown up. Unfortunately for them, they were being drastically shown up.Whatever they had planned, it couldn’t top Loki in his black suit of sexiness acting like the prince he was.

After the spa, Loki took you out to a picnic lunch in the fancy park in the middle of town. It was a popular spot, and lots of pictures of the pair of you were taken, but you didn’t mind. You then went walking around downtown, doing all the touristy things that the people who live there didn’t do. It was fun to see all of the sights with Loki. He took you to dinner at a super fancy restaurant, and you ended up back in the park that evening gazing up at the stars. You didn’t know if he had planned the fireworks show, but it was the perfect end, to an admittedly perfect day.


	32. Chapter 32

You had to get up stupidly early the next morning, which majorly sucked with how late you had gotten to bed the night before. You really weren’t looking forward to that day, either.It was your first day of officially training your powers and it was going to suck. Miserably.There was no way in any universe that you knew of that training would not in fact suck.

You dressed in workout clothes, tied up your hair, and headed down to grab a bite to eat before you had to meet with Fury. Loki was already at your table, looking way more awake than you felt. You kinda hated him for it.

“Fury wishes for me to train with you this morning,” Loki explained by way of greeting. You weren’t sure you were awake enough to comprehend his words, but you nodded anyway and bolted down your meager granola bar breakfast. Loki looked disapproving, but he didn’t complain for once. He knew you was nervous about this and you were glad he would be there with you. That would make it slightly more bearable.

Slightly.

The next hours were hell. There was no other word for it. Except maybe torture. Torture was pretty close. 

Fury had you remove the bangle as soon as you arrived in the training room so you could get to work. He did everything he could think of to make you activate and try to use your powers. You had spent the last week trying to keep calm and avoid activating your powers when they would hurt youso badly. So it was beyond hard to summon them on command.Fury made you practice calling fire and floating objects for hours, despite the pain that ran through your brain when you did. He was also barking at you for control. It just wasn’t happening. It was like a light switch. Your powers were either active or not and you couldn’t do anything to control how active or inactive they were.Which is exactly what Fury wanted you to do.

After hours of work, you were drenched in sweat, whimpering from the pain in your head which just got worse at every movement or thought, and so raw and bruised by your own powers that you feared you’d never get any control over them. Loki had been using his ice powers all day to help control the fires you made. Other ice and water supers had had to be called in to help.

Your powers were just too out of control. You were kneeling on the mats with tears streaming down your face, wondering when this torture would be over. Fury just kept barking and barking about control and how you had to control the fire and not just let it loose. He didn’t understand that you couldn’t. That just letting your powers activate was so painful you wanted to puke to make the pain go away. There was just nothing there to even try to get a reign on your wayward powers.

“Loki, come help me with this,” Fury called. Loki went over to him, but gave you a sympathetic look on his way. He knew how hard you were trying. You could feel his anger at Fury for putting you through this. You tried to block his thoughts out, but your mind was too weak and aching to shut anything out, especially your Loki.

The moment Loki made it to Fury, Fury pulled out a knife and dragged it roughly across Loki’s arm. “Loki!” you screamed, jumping back to your feet and running over to him, despite your exhaustion. You threw Fury away from you and Loki, managing somehow to only throw him away from you and not across the room and into the wall. With some focus and imagination, and a strong determination to be safe, a circle of flames surrounded you, keeping you safe while you placed your hand over Loki’s arm. With a softly glowing blue light, his wound knit itself closed.

You collapsed against Loki the second he was healed, too drained to even stand on your own. The flames vanished and Fury took a couple steps toward you. Instantly, your hands were back up. You couldn’t summon the flames again, but a tiny candle light of a flame appeared in your palm. “The battle is over, soldier,” he told you in his drill sergeant voice, as he moved toward you with his hands up in surrender. You collapsed back against Loki. “Very well done, Kat,” he told you with a rare smile.

“That was planned?” you asked, confused and so brain dead that it just didn’t make any sense to you that he would trick you. He nodded, but softened at your expression.

“I’m sorry that you had to push you so far, but you knew you had the capability for control. You just had to prove it to yourself,”

“But all day-” he had tortured you with your powers all day.He had drained you to breaking point

“I had to see what you can do,” he told you. You realized then why all the new recruits looked like death after their first day of training. Fury did this to everyone.“Sorry, Loki,” he added. Loki just nodded. “Someone had to be injured for you to heal them and learn that you could. I figured you’d heal loverboy here,” he smirked. He’d put your Loki in danger and smirked at him over it.Loki just accepted it.“You will learn control, Kat. You’re capable of it. You demonstrated that here tonight. Get something to eat and some rest,” he told you firmly.

Loki half-carried you from the room. It as a good thing you were so dead or you might’ve killed Fury for hurting your Loki.You stumbled next to Loki as he half-carried you. Even with him holding you up you stumbled over your feet. He swept you up into his arms when it was clear you weren’t capable without his help. “I’m so sorry, love,” he whispered, his tone soothing and gentle. “I hated seeing you like that,”

“I know,” you murmured, laying your head on his shoulder. “Can you cold for me?” you asked him softly once you were upstairs. You had zoned out for the entire trip to the common roomHe settled you on your couch in the common room. “It’s so hot playing with fire all day,” you whined at him.

“Let me get you some dinner and then I will,” he promised. You nodded and closed your eyes, willing the headache to go away. It didn’t listen. Loki had to shake you back awake to get you to eat something. At least he sat next to you with his cold hand on your neck.

You couldn’t even remember what you ate, while you were eating it, but managed to get the food down before even holding a fork became too much effort.

“First day of training, huh?” some of the supers asked sympathetically as they came into the room to watch TV. You nodded wearily, too tired to properly answer.

“Come on, darling, let’s get you upstairs. You might actually sleep tonight after all of this,” Loki told you gently. You let him lift you off of the couch and carry you up to your room. He set you on your feet in your bedroom. “Kat, darling. You have to wake up now. Just for a little while. You cannot sleep drenched in sweat like this. Can you shower on your own, or should you get one of the girls up here?” he asked you gently. He wouldn’t presume to help you himself, not after all you’d been through, but he was going to help you even if he had to get one of the girls to come help you to accomplish that.You blinked up at him, dumbly, but his words finally got through your hazy mind.

“I can,” you replied and somehow made it through the shower and into pajamas and stumbled into him when you left the bathroom. Loki steered you directly to your bed. You were pretty sure you were asleep before you even laid down.

Loki was sitting in your recliner when your alarm went off in the morning. “I thought you had finished with your exams last week?” he asked you with a disapproving expression as you shut off your alarm and moved to get up.

“Those were the AP exams. My regular finals are this week. I only have a couple since I took so many AP classes,” you explained.Again. Loki really didn’t understand how Midgardian education worked. “They’re also a lot easier and a lot less vital to my future,”

You made it through your exams that day and training that afternoon. That training session was a lot easier and focused on trying to manage the size of a fire once you had made it. It was only a couple more days of that draining experience, since your last exam was Wednesday and then you’d be free to focus on learning to control your powers all summer.

What a wonderfully fun summer that would be.

Not.


	33. Chapter 33

You dawdled coming home from your last exam Wednesday afternoon. Loki protested until your dawdling took the form of kissing him. For some strange reason he suddenly stopped protesting at that form of dawdling. You were finally free for the summer and you wanted to enjoy it for at least a little while before you had to get back to training.

So you sat on a park bench halfway home and made out like giddy teenagers. You enjoyed every single moment of it and you were both grinning and breathing heavily when you finally stopped procrastinating and went back home. You walked hand-in-hand and you babbled about silly things like how you were going to throw your school uniform in the back of the closet and not have to look at it for three months. You also very kindly did not tell him that your schedule next year would be filled with as many AP classes as you were allowed to take. He didn’t need that kind of worry in his life. He would find out in September regardless.

You had an hour of combat training with Loki and your daggers before an hour with Fury and his torture. Your control wasn’t getting any better unless there was an actual threat to make you react with emotion instead of actual control.

It wasn’t going well.

You were relieved after dinner when you could curl up in your pajamas on the common room couch with Loki. “Kat!” Tony called from the doorway to get your attention. You got up to see what he wanted. Your bangle was back on your wrist after training.You didn’t want any accidents when you were already raw from training.It was safer for everyone.

“What’s up?” you asked him, wondering why he was coming to see you. He glared at your pajamas, but they weren’t indecent, so he really couldn’t say anything. Besides, it was practically summer. Tank tops and long pajama pants were not inappropriate. Except that you had been cuddling with your boyfriend. That was the part that was the real problem with Tony. He really needed to get over you having a boyfriend.

“A package came for you,” he said and handed you the small box he was holding

You looked at it confused since you couldn’t remember ordering anything recently.“Thanks,” you replied absently as you pulled a dagger from the sheath at your back to open the box with. You heard Loki chuckle at your unconscious use of his gift, while Tony just looked dumbstruck. He knew you had the dagger sheath, but kept forgetting that you were accustomed to using it.

Inside the box was a DVD. It was one of those blank DVDs, not a true professional one. Someone had written ‘Avengers 5’ on it in black sharpie. There was a note inside too.

<I got the studio to let me end you an advanced copy of the film we were shooting at the compound. Don’t show it to anyone else.

-Tom>

You grinned and held the DVD up for Loki to see. “We have something to watch tonight,” you told him. He returned your smile.

“Kat, we’re all going out on patrol tonight. Fury got intelligence that The Harlequin is back up to her tricks. You and Loki are to stay here. You’re not up to field work yet.” Tony told you firmly. You nodded your agreement. You knew you weren’t up to field work, yet. You wasn’t up to anything that had to do with your powers.

“Be careful,” you told him. you didn’t want him hurt on patrol.

“I always am,” he replied with his trademark smirk. He gave you a hug, gave Loki a threat about his behavior towards you that was half-hearted at best, and went on patrol with his team. You bounced over to the TV and put the DVD in before curling up with Loki to watch it.

About a half hour in to the movie, you realized why Tom had sent it to you. The studio had used the kiss scene with you and Loki, the one you had goofed around and made instead of the actors. You had just been playing around that day, seeing how long it would take the crew to realize you weren’t the actors, or more accurately, that Loki wasn’t Tom. For some reason, they had used the footage of you and Loki instead of the footage of Tom and Kelly. It was extremely hard to tell the difference, but you saw the scar on your leg clearly in the shot and knew without a doubt that it was you. You paused the movie and just stared at it.

“That’s us!” you told Loki, who just nodded, amused at your shock.

“We obviously did the kiss better than the actors,” he laughed. It was unheard of, but so was your situation with the actors.

You laughed over it and you were just about to restart the movie when Loki put his hand on yours, stalling your movement.You looked up at him confused, but there was no time for more than that.

“Kat, run!” he ordered you urgently.

He kicked up the coffee table in front of you as a burst of flame flew toward you.The table acted as a shield between you and the attack of the fire throwing clown who had broken into your tower. There were more clowns who had broken in and Loki threw bolts of magic at them while he shoved you to get you to run into the kitchen. You did, expecting that he was following.

He didn’t follow you. He stayed where he was and used magic on the clowns in front of him, teleporting them somewhere else.He didn’t see the two who had come in the back entrance.

Worse than that, though, the clowns broke the rules of your world. They came to a superhero battle with guns. After magic erupted in the world, guns in a superhero battle had become fairly unheard of.It only took you a moment to recognize the fact that they were holding guns, and they were aiming those guns at your Loki. “Loki! NO!” you screamed, running back to the hall between the kitchen and the common room. Loki turned in slow motion as the guns went off. You drew two daggers, throwing them as you threw yourself into the fray, shoving Loki out of the way.

The clowns fell to the floor, daggers protruding from their throats. You turned to Loki and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t hurt.

The bullets had missed.

The bullets had-

Your legs fell out from under you. That didn’t make sense.Nor did your legs buckling and you falling to your knees.You looked down in confusion and saw the flood of red gushing out of your chest and stomach. You gasped in horror and pain as the realization finally broke through the shock and you collapsed the rest of the way to the floor.

The bullets hadn’t missed.

“KAT!” Loki screamed, rushing to your side. “Nononono, Kat!” you heard the horror in his voice.

You looked up at him through bleary shock clouded eyes. “You’re safe,” you whispered. “T-they didn’t hurt you.” Your words wouldn’t come. Your breath wouldn’t come. You tried and failed to pull air into your lungs.You tried to breathe through the pain.You gasped, fighting for every ounce of air as your life was slipping away.

“Stay with me, love,” he ordered. There was so much green light. His hand was on your chest, by your heart, trying to hold the blood in as it streamed around his hand. “Kat! Stay with me!” he ordered, his voice a desperate growl. The green light darkened as your world was fading away.

“I… love… you…” It was important to tell him now.

It was too late to tell him later.

“KAT! NO!” Loki howled.


	34. Chapter 34

“Kat, no, Kat, stay with me!” you heard Loki’s desperate please, though blearily as your ears rang. You fought to pull in air, fought to focus on him, on remembering every detail of his face. A decision passed over his eyes, and the healing green glow around him intensified. He was throwing every single ounce of magical strength he had into that glow and you could see the effort it was taking him. “Don’t give up Kat, just a couple more minutes, I promise. You can rest in a few more minutes. I know you’re strong enough to hold on for that long. If you don’t, I shall be quite cross with you.” He was speaking just to say words, just to keep you focused on him while he did whatever he was going to do.You tried to smile for him, but he was fading too fast. “Forgive me, love. Survive this and you can hate me forever what what I’m about to do. I promise.” He said softly.He took a deep breath and moved one of his blood covered hands so it was holding your left hand.

“Blessed be the name of Odin, my father, and Frigga, his queen. In their names, with their power, and with joy in my heart do I make this vow. With their blessing, I give this gift. I choose you. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To guard and cherish, to bring joy to your heart. To learn with you and grow with you. Without your love, I am incomplete. I bind myself to you with these vows, willingly and wholeheartedly, free from doubt or reservation. With love I will tell you the truth as I understand it, I will honor and respect you. I will rejoice in your joys and weep in your sorrows. I will love and cherish you without cease, without pause, without hesitation for all of our days. You are my equal, my partner, my life. So I give this gift to you and you alone. I share my life and my soul with you. All that is mine is yours, I bind myself now to you, from this moment until the end of all of our days,” he recited, like a long ago memorized speech. He leaned down and placed his lips to yours. His lips felt less cool, as if your skin were already cooling. But he still tasted of a crisp winter’s day.

You felt something pass between you and a shock passed through your joined hands.

“I beg of all the gods, please do not let me have been too late,” he whispered. You heard footsteps storming in. Backup was there. Loki smiled down at you. “Rest now, darling,” he bid you gently. 

You closed your eyes, fading to unconsciousness with the warm image of his smile in your mind.


	35. Chapter 35

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” a female voice said to you as you finally started to wake. You cracked your eyes open and looked to the voice, still feeling dazed and like it was hard to wake. The voice belonged to Julia, the head healer in the infirmary. She was standing next to your bed and was maneuvering it so that you were in a sitting position without having to actually sit up yourself. You weren’t sure you could move. 

It was taking you a minute to focus on anything, but you realized that you was in the infirmary. Again. It was also one of the private rooms, which meant whatever had landed you in here was serious.

You were rather confused, and frankly surprised to be alive, once you remembered what had happened. Your sleep fogged haze began to clear and you looked frantically around for Loki. “Easy, Kat. You nearly died and you’ve been unconscious for two days. Your young men have been quite worried about you,” Julia told you gently.She took a step back and you could see around her. Loki and Tony were sitting on the couch in the infirmary room. Both of them were asleep and they were sitting as far apart from each other as physically possible on the small couch. You didn’t understand why they weren’t both instantly awake the moment Julia had started talking to you, they were both overprotective. Julia caught your expression. “Don’t worry, I put them to sleep a couple of hours ago. They refused to leave. Or sleep. Your uncle is extra cranky when he hasn’t gotten any sleep...” she complained. You managed to give her a tentative smile at that. “I’ll wake them in a minute. First, you. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

You nodded, but she just looked at you pointedly until you actually answered her. That seemed like too much effort with how bad you felt, but you answered her anyway. “I remember The Harlequin’s clowns broke into the compound and attacked us. I was shot,” you told her simply. It was a lot of effort to talk. You just wanted to sleep. “I feel like I got shot in the chest,” you added, since she was still waiting for an answer to her question.

“You did nearly die,” she reminded you. You nodded. You remembered that part, and how you _should_ have died.“And you’re still a long way from healed, but it’s good to see you alive and awake. You’ll be ok.”

You looked down at yourself and saw the bandage peeking out from the top of the hospital gown covering where you had been shot. There were tubes and needles going into your right arm. Your left hand and arm was covered in swirls of black, green, gold, and blue. It was beautiful and elegant. you would have compared it to a tattoo, but it looked more real, more clear than ink could ever achieve. Plus, it was shimmering with magic.“Any idea what that’s all about?” she asked, noticing your gaze. You shook your head. You had a vague idea when it had happened, but you weren’t sure how or what it meant. “You ready to face them?” she asked, nodding at the sleeping boys.

“Yes,” you replied. You wanted answers and the only way to get those would be to talk to Loki. You remembered the words he had spoken before you had passed out. You needed to know what they meant.

“If they get too annoying or loud, call for me and I will deal with them. You need to heal and they can’t be allowed to interfere with that,” she told you. She was an overprotective healer, as they all were.She left the room and the boys started to stir. You steeled yourself to face them.

They startled awake at nearly the same moment and looked anxiously at your bed. You smiled at them, they looked so ridiculous that you couldn’t help the grin on your face. They both ran to your bed at the same time when they saw that you were awake. You were afraid they were going to fight over which one got to hug you first, but Loki took a step back before he reached the bed and gestured Tony forward with an elegant bow. “Kat! You’re ok!” Tony exclaimed as he wrapped you in a careful hug.

“So it seems,” you told him. “Though Healer Julia did say I’m still a long way from healed.” You reached up with the hand that wasn’t covered in needles to hug him back.

“You almost died,” he told you, panic in his voice. You heard the pain in his voice and you knew how hard the last two days had been on him. He’d already lost your parents, his brother and sister-in-law. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing you too.

“I didn’t,” you reassured him gently.You hated seeing him so distraught. 

“You should have. That wound should have killed you.You were shot through the heart,” Tony told you just as gently. He didn’t want to distress you, but he wanted to impress upon you how lucky you were to be alive.“There should have been no way for you to survive that. _He_ did something and won’t tell me what it is. He keeps insisting that he needs to tell you first,” Tony grumbled, glaring at Loki.

“Uncle Tony, can’t you just be glad I’m alive?” you demanded. Stupid uncle getting caught up with the details.You were just glad to be alive.He should be too. 

“I am glad you’re alive, Kat,” he relented a little.“I still want to know what the hell he did. It left marks on your skin,” Tony growled.You looked over him to Loki, who was standing away from you, giving you your space.He was looking unsure and almost...shy. It was strange for him. You’d never seen him like that. You reached your hand out to him, wondering why your boyfriend hadn’t thrown your uncle aside by now to come see you.He was acting so strange.

Loki took the steps to reach you quickly and took your hand, the one that was decorated in the swirls of colors. You saw that his left hand was covered in the exact same pattern of swirls and colored magic. He kissed your knuckles, but didn’t hug you.He still seemed afraid. “I am relieved you are awake, Lady,” he told you too formally. You shifted so you could look at him more easily.

“Loki, what’s wrong? You’re acting all distant and formal,” you asked him tiredly, getting straight to the point. You just wanted to rest, but this needed to be done and it needed to be done now.You needed to know what had happened. You needed to know why Loki was being so distant and formal. 

“I am...afraid that you will reject me, or worse, for what I had to do to save you,” he explained. Well, that explained why he was being so scared and shy. 

You patted the side of your bed. “Come sit and tell me. It hurts to look up at you. You’re too tall,” you told him with a small smile. You were sure no matter what it was that he’d done, that it couldn’t be _that_ bad. Tony pulled over a chair and sat on the other side of your bed, holding the hand that was covered in tubes and needles. He wasn’t hurting you, so you let him. Loki sat on the edge of your bed, holding your marked hand.

“It was the only way to save you,” he started, looking at you and not daring to look at Tony while he explained. “On my world it is called a soulbinding,” he added as if that explained it.That sounded like soulmate stuff.You hadn’t known anything like that was possible. 

“Like a marriage?” Tony demanded, instantly furious.You could see why he’d be furious over it, but you didn’t think it was a marriage, or Loki would have said so.

“Like a marriage... but more. It is not simply a promise, like human marriages. It a literal tying together of two souls. It is deep, ancient, magic. I have shared my...immortality, for lack a better word, with you, shared my power, my very soul with you,” Loki addressed the last part to you, ignoring your uncle. “But if either of us does die, so will the other,”

You heard what he hadn’t said. “If I hadn’t survived, you wouldn’t have either,” you said softly, horrified by the realization. He’d almost died too.

Loki inclined his head in agreement.

Tony jolted out of his chair so fast it fell over and was on Loki in a second. He grabbed Loki by the throat, again, and held him against the nearest wall. “Uncle Tony!” you yelled. You couldn’t get out of the bed to stop them this time.

“You married her without her consent?” Tony demanded, roaring in his anger. “How dare you?!” He growled, choking Loki, or he would have been had Loki not created a shield to stop Tony from actually crushing his windpipe.He’d learned from last time.

“Would you kindly stop attempting to kill me?” Loki asked dryly, not struggling against Tony.He seemed more annoyed than anything. “I did just explain that if you kill me, your niece will also die,” Tony dropped Loki quickly and turned to you to make sure you were still alive. You were very much so and you had to try not to laugh at Tony’s expression. “I did what you had to in order to save her life. It was the only way. She was shot clean through the heart. I used every single ounce of healing magic I had on her body and it was just enough for her to stay alive long enough for me to complete the ritual. Just barely long enough. Another instant and we both would have lost her forever,” Loki told Tony heatedly. Anger and magic sparked around him.Tony finally seemed to understand the concept then. He glared, but didn’t do anything else. At least he stopped trying to kill Loki.

“Boys, come back,” you bid them softly. It was really hard to watch them where they were, they were out of easy line of sight. Luckily, the wishes of the injured girl took priority over their anger at each other. Tony took his chair again and Loki sat next to you on the bed. You took his hand. “Thank you for saving my life,” you told him. You knew how much he had risked to do it.

“You are not angry about how I had to do it?” he asked. You thought about it and you had the feeling he respected your answer more because you _did_ consider the answer.

“I’m not sure I’m pleased with the method. I can’t say that I’m upset you saved my life. But I have a couple of questions before I can tell you how upset I am,” you finally answered.You doubted you would be upset with him, but he did still have to answer your questions.

“Ask,” he bid you softly. “Any truth I have is yours.”

You couldn’t help smiling at his openness, at his reassurance that he would do anything for you. “By your world’s standards, we’re married now?” you asked him. He nodded and looked away, afraid again. You saw the fear in his eyes. “What does that change between us?” you asked, unsure of the wording and hoping that would give you the answer you wanted. 

“You are much less breakable now. You will have my powers as well as your own, except for my jotun abilities. Those I cannot share or I would. You have the magic of my world as well, now,” he told you.

You glared at him. “That’s not what I meant, Loki,” you told him firmly. He wasn’t getting out of this one with his silver tongue.He knew that wasn’t what you were asking. 

“Apologies, Lady,” he looked chastised. “I fear I do not understand your question.”He got even more formal when he was upset. 

“What does this change between us?” you repeated, but that wasn’t a clear enough question. You tried to think of how to ask more clearly, when he finally seemed to understand.

“Nothing need change, unless you desire it,” he answered, finally catching onto what you were asking. “However, when we go back to Asgard, you do have to pretend to at least be able to stand my company for the visit. If you no longer wish to be courted by me, I understand. I forced this on you, which is unforgivable. My only excuse is that I could not bear to live in a world where you did not exist,” he paused at that.“I would ask the favor of you of acting the charade for my family first. They are already upset that I have found my soulbond and have not come home since. After that, you need never see me again if that is what you wish.”

You couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again. Somehow, you managed to move, to wrap your arms around his neck tightly.“I don’t want to leave you or lose you,” you told him, distressed over the thought. “I don’t want this to change anything between us,” you heard the tears in your voice and tried to ignore them in your eyes. 

“I will not force you to remain in a relationship, no matter what I had to do to save your life. You need only speak the word and I will step back, allow you to pursue your life without me if that is your desire. I never wanted to force this on you,” Loki said gently.

You clutched onto him tighter. “I don’t want you to leave,” you whimpered. “I don’t want anything to change,”

“Then it shall not, darling,” he told you softly, gently, and you heard the smile in his voice. He held you for a moment longer before he extricated himself from your grip and settled you back among the pillows.

“You’re forgiving him just like that?” Tony growled.

You glared over at him. “He saved my life. He just promised nothing about our relationship is going to change. We’ll deal with the rest once I feel like a human again,” you grumbled tiredly. You admitted to yourself that you had been concerned that since you were officially ‘married’ by his culture’s standards that he would expect a certain activity that you weren’t ready to do with him yet, if you ever would be.

/I would never force you to be physical, darling. I am not a monster/ you heard his thoughts in your mind

 _I know, but that knowledge didn’t ease the fear, not until you said it aloud, not until you took the effort to ease my fear_ It was hard to focus on the thoughts, so you hoped that was a good enough explanation for him.

Tony was still glaring, but dropped it again for the time being. You had a feeling he was just accepting that you were still alive and ignoring everything else for everyone’s safety. He would be pissed about this for awhile. “I have to go report to Fury. I told him I would the moment you woke. Can you two behave yourselves or do I need to find you a babysitter?” he growled. 

“We will be perfectly fine,” Loki replied pleasantly. He seemed to be trying to get a rise out of Tony. At least things were back to normal.Tony glared, but did leave you alone. Loki reached over and brushed your hair back from your face. “I thought you had lost you,” he told you softly, sorrow in his eyes.

“I know,” you whispered.You realized well how close you’d been to death. 

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he told you firmly. He tried to sound angry, you heard it in his voice, but he just sounded lovingly exasperated.

You smiled at him. “I’ll do your best never to get shot again. It’s no fun.” you told him, glad to be easing back into our normal wonderful relationship. You did hold up your left hand. “What’s with the pretty swirly colors?” you asked, finally getting back to it.

He gave you a real smile then, sensing that the tension had eased. At least for now. “It is the mark of the soulbound.” He took your hand and traced the green and black lines on your skin. “These represent me and my magic,” you nodded. His magic was green and the lines of magic were in the exact same shade. He traced the gold and blue lines. “And these are you and your magic.” you remembered seeing that shade of blue the day you had healed Loki’s arm.

You smiled at him, but tiredly. “Can we go home now?” you asked.

He chuckled at your predictable reaction. “You truly dislike the infirmary,” he commented. You whined at him to go home every time you were there.

“I spent too much time in the hospital after the fire,” you reminded him. You heard the exhaustion in your voice and knew he would too.

“Not yet, darling. You still need to heal a lot more before they will let you leave,”

You pouted at him. “Can’t you do it?” you whined.

“I cannot, not this time. I am still too low on power from the other night,” he explained. You sighed, heavily, wanting to leave the healing wing. “I know, darling,” he soothed. “Would it make you feel better if I read to you?” he asked. He was trying, _really_ hard to get you to relax and agree to stay here where you would heal.

“A little...” you told him softly. You scooted over on the bed, which was somehow big enough that Loki could lie down beside you. You patted the spot on the bed, inviting him over. He sighed and looked put-upon, which made you giggle at him, but he climbed all the way onto the bed and laid beside you. You curled yourself against him, laying your head on his chest. He summoned the book of children’s tales from Asgard and began to read them to you.

You looked up at him in surprised about halfway through the first story, when you finally realized that he was reading them in Asgardian and you understood every word to the point where you hadn’t even realized it wasn’t English he was speaking.

He chuckled at your reaction. “Surprise~” he told you with a grin. Apparently that had been one of the abilities you’d gained through the soulbond.You giggled at him and laid your head back on his chest. You were exhausted and needed more rest to actually heal. He ran his fingers through your hair, soothing you back to sleep as he read you stories.


	36. Chapter 36

“I thought you two said you would behave,” Tony growled from the doorway and indeterminate amount of time later. You cracked your eyes open and looked up at him from your cool, Loki-shaped pillow and made a small noise at the disturbance.You’d been comfortable and your Loki-shaped pillow was not only cool, but had been reading in the most pleasant accent ever.

“We _are_ behaving,” Loki protested. He’d been really good and kept you in bed and resting.Tony just glared at him. He didn’t believe Loki, especially when you were still holding on to Loki like he was a teddy bear and refused to let him go, even with your uncle in the room. “I am sure you are aware how she feels about hospitals. She was ready to have a panic attack and flee from here back to her rooms. I kept her here and safe where all the nice healers are,” Loki added reasonably.

“Go ‘way Tony,” you murmured. “Was sleeping.” Your words were slurring with exhaustion. That wasn’t a good sign.Why couldn’t he let you rest?

“Can’t imp. Fury wants to see you. You have to wake up. And let go of your plushie,” you groaned, but let go of Loki and sat up.Extremely reluctantly.

“Do I even want to know what a ‘plushie’ is?” Loki asked as he reluctantly got out of the bed.

You didn’t bother answering him. “Does that mean I can leave the infirmary?” you asked Tony with desperation in your voice as you forced your tired brain awake. You could be awake for awhile if it meant you could get out of the hospital wing. If Fury wanted to see you, maybe you were free to go get out of this... overly clean smelling hellhole. You swung your legs over the side of the bed to do just that. Loki grabbed you before you could actually get up and hurt yourself ripping out needles or stitches or something.

“Not yet, imp. Hopefully soon,” Tony looked concerned, though he should know how much you hated the hospital.You sighed. You really did hate it there. You just wanted to go home.

Fury came in and briefly confirmed you were alive and relatively well. He told you you’d get back to training after you healed.

Healer Julia came in next. “Please tell me I’m healed enough to go home,” you begged her.

She sighed. “And that’s why you were in a healing sleep for two days,” she replied. You looked up at her with a hopeful expression. “One more healing and you can go home,” she finally said. “Provided you have someone to look after you,”

Tony growled. “Kat, I’m on patrol all weekend, and I’m not leaving you with him,” he glared at Loki. you rolled your eyes.

“Uncle Tony, he’s been my guard for the past, like, 6 months and my boyfriend for nearly as long. He’s not going to let anything happen to me,” you protested, using logic on him.Loki was usually effective. 

“I don’t trust him. Besides, the last time you were in his care you nearly died,” Tony replied, just as logically.

You rolled your eyes.Loki had said if you died, he would too.Even if he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t risk you for that fact alone.“Uncle Tony....”

“Fine, but if he tries anything, stab him first and ask questions later,” he gave the same order again. It was then that you remembered the two clowns who had shot at Loki, the ones who had ended up with your daggers in their throats.

“W-what happened to the clowns?” you asked them, your voice stuttering as you remembered what you’d done. You weren’t sure you wanted to know, but you needed to.You needed to know if you’d killed them.

“Kat...” Tony started.

“They are dead, love,” Loki said simply, but gently.He wouldn’t mince his words on something that important and you were grateful for it. “It was us or them. There was no good choice there,”

“We don’t kill people...” you whispered, staring down at the bed clothes. Supers didn’t kill people. It was against how you worked, against everything that you were.

“That rule does not apply when your life is in active danger. You know that, Kat,” Tony told youfirmly.It was one of the first lessons the new supers learned. 

“I killed two people, Uncle Tony!” you looked up at him with tears in your eyes. He pulled you into a hug.

“I know, imp. It’s hard for everyone the first time. You know what I had to do in Afghanistan to survive.We do it when we need to, but only when we need to. It hurts every time. There’s nothing wrong with feeling remorse, or feeling the pain you caused, but never, ever, feel sorry that you saved your life, or protected someone in your care.” You nodded and sniffled and he let you go. You wouldn’t forget what you had done and you was nowhere near over it, but you had done the only thing you could to live and to make sure Loki did too.

Healer Julia cleared her throat. “Boys, if you can’t behave, you’ll have to leave. I need to get to work if Kat’s going to get her wish of getting out of here.”Tony and Loki moved away from the bed and let Julia get to work. She placed her glowing golden hands over you and began the healing. When she was done, she unhooked you from all of the annoying machines. “You need to rest. No training, no nothing. If it involves walking further than downstairs for dinner, it’s off limits. If you don’t, I’m dragging you back here until you’re fully healed,” she ordered. You nodded sheepishly. She was already doing you enough of a favor getting you out of here early.

“Thank you,” you told her softly.

She nodded with a wicked grin on her face and took a step back from the bed. “Now, which of your young men will be carrying you to your room?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Before she had even finished the question, Loki had swept you off of the bed. You giggled as he did and at Tony’s angry expression as you wrapped your arms around Loki’s neck. “And the boyfriend wins,” Julia announced with a smile.

“You better not try anything, other imp,” Tony warned Loki, but he said it with enough of a smile that you thought he might be willing to forgive Loki. Someday. Someday he might even accept the fact that you was dating Loki. “I really need to stop leaving you troublemakers together,” Tony sighed and left to go do more work.

“‘m not causin’ trouble,” you mumbled, half asleep already. Being under such heavy healing spells was straining to the body and exhausting.

“I know, darling. Now let’s get you home,” Loki told you softly. He carried you upstairs like you weighed nothing and settled you in the bed, knowing you were too out of it to walk yourself. “Are you awake?” he asked you, concerned. You blinked quickly to focus on him, and managed to nod. He held a hand out toward you, a green glow around it. “Would you like real pajamas instead of the hospital clothes?” he asked gently.

“Tha-d be nice,” you murmured, exhaustion slurring your words. Really, he was lucky you were still coherent at all. Healing wears out the healed, he should know that.

He sighed. “What am you going to do with you?” He leaned down and kissed your forehead. The green glow of his magic, flashed over you and you were in fuzzy warm pajamas. Seconds later, you were fast asleep, holding on to his hand.


	37. Chapter 37

It was three days before Loki and Tony would let you go farther than your bathroom. On the fourth day, you threatened to set them both on fire if they didn’t stop smothering you. Not that you could control setting them on fire, but you’d figure out how as you were going stir crazy.It still took until Loki saw that the wound was healed before he’d believe you.It had scarred, but at least you were alive. Loki didn’t seem pleased, but wouldn’t tell you what was bothering him.

“Come on, Loki, we can at least watch TV downstairs. I can’t stay cooped up in my room anymore,” you told him, getting out of the bed and trying to keep the whine out of your voice. You were still winded easily, and weren’t nearly fully healed, but you were better enough to at least see the rest of your adopted family of supers. “Stop worrying so much,” you told him when he stayed brooding and grumpy. He still didn’t move, so you went over to him. “What’s wrong?” you asked him gently. Something was obviously wrong.

“I promised my family that we would come visit once you were healed,” he explained softly, though that really wasn’t an explanation. You didn’t mind going to see Asgard again.“I cannot postpone the trip much longer and there is still quite a bit of preparations before we can go,” he added.Ok, preparations could be a problem.

“What kind of preparations?” you asked, assuming that was the real problem and the real thing bothering you. You grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. He was coming to dinner with youdownstairs. He sighed. “Loki, you have to tell me,” you reminded him.You would outstubborn him.

“They will want to have a full ceremony and celebration for the soulbond,” he finally said. “And you must be presented as a princess of the realm,” he added after another hesitation. You smiled at him.Neither of those things sounded that bad.You were used to being a Stark and in the spotlight.

“Stall them for another week and prep me for it then. I learn fast,” you reminded him. “We’ll get through it together,” you tried to keep your voice perky and optimistic. 

“Truly, you would act the charade for me?” he asked, sounding heartbroken at the question.

You looked up at him confused.“What charade?” you asked. You really loved him and wanted to stand beside him with whatever he needed.

He chuckled and kissed the top of your head. “How did I ever find someone as perfect as you?” he asked.

You walked hand-in-hand to dinner and all of the supers cheered to see you out of bed. You promised you would watch a movie with them. Loki didn’t look pleased by that either, but he let it slide. Since you were injured, you got dibs on the loveseat of honor in front of the good TV. You watched a couple movies with your family, both knowing it was your last night of peace for awhile.

Since you were nearly healed, you had light training with Fury on your powers every day. It still went super poorly, since your mind hadn’t healed. Every use of your powers hurt, besides the powers that you had gained through the bond with Loki. Loki was also prepping you on the details of the ceremony you would have to go through when you returned to Asgard.You also had to memorize the speech for it.

There were a lot of details to learn.

One evening Edna called you down to her domain. You’d never been to her workroom, so you were a bit nervous to go. You were amazed when you got there. The whole place was filled with costume mockups and fabrics. “You are a true super now. You get a costume, yes?” she asked in her heavy accent. You nodded meekly. She was tiny, but intimidating, though she had no powers of her own. “No masks and no capes,”

“Don’t all the supers have masks?” you asked her. You didn’t care about the lack of capes. That wasn’t important.

“Not you. Not Loki. No masks. It is stupid to risk hindering your sight when your identity is already known. Come, darling,” she led you deeper into her realm. “Your costume is made already. I outdid myself this time.” She handed you a bundle of fabric and shoved you behind a screen. “Put it on. I know it fit.” You sighed and used one of the simple spells you’d learned from Loki to put the costume on. It was black and blue and seemed to be made of some kind of protective kevlar material.It looked like something Lady Sif wore in the Thor movies.The costume was completed with combat boots. It also was obviously for protection and not to show off your body, for which you were grateful. You would be able to move and fight in it too. You stepped out from behind the screen to show Edna. “Yes. Perfect. It is fireproof, of course, can withstand any magic, bulletproof, and you can fight in it. Go. Show the others,” she ordered, seeming pleased with herself.

“Thank you, Edna,” you told her politely and went to go show the rest of the supers. You got more cheers from them when they saw your costume.

Tony gave you a hug. “Welcome to the team, imp,” he told you,grinning. He was pleased that you were finally a real super. 

“We’re celebrating tonight!” Nat called. Cheers came from the crowd. She glared at them. “Girls only!” she yelled at them. “Go change and we’re heading out!” The girls all ran upstairs to get changed. You rolled your eyes and went to where Loki was waiting on the couch.

“So, a girl’s night?” he asked, sounding amused.

“Apparently. They mean well. I’ll try to get us home at a reasonable hour,” you told him and gave him a kiss.

“Have fun, darling,” he replied. You took a step back and changed your own clothes with magic to a sparkly black dress that only went down to your kneels and strappy black heels. Loki gave you an appraising look. “You look ravishing, my dear,” he told you as he stood. He pulled you into his arms and kissed you deeply.

Hands attached to giggling girls grabbed your arms and pulled you away from Loki. You kept your lips attached to his until the last possible moment. They all giggled and you let them drag you away.

You ended up at a local dance club. Most of the supers frequented the place, so they weren’t surprised at your presence, and let you in even though you were under 21. Nat promised them that you were under her care and she would take responsibility. You was surprised that worked on them, but they didn’t seem to mind bending the rules in order to keep the supers who protect the city happy. At long as your group didn’t cause trouble. Which you wouldn’t.

It was a lot of fun dancing with the girls and drinking fruity drinks, even if your didn’t have any alcohol in them.

The whole evening was going wonderfully, until you walked out of the ladies’ room and straight into a damp cloth that smelled like chemicals over your nose and mouth.


	38. Chapter 38

You came to, to find yourself tied to a sturdy wooden chair. You kept your eyes closed, though, taking in your surroundings.You knew much more about self defense now than you had before you’d gotten your powers.“We have to get the ransom out quick,” a male voice announced nearby. Great. They were trying to ransom you. Dumbasses thought kidnapping you was a good idea. At all. If only your powers weren’t bound by the stupid bangle. You were going to have to tell Tony that there needed to be an emergency override on the thing.

Loki was going to kill them if your uncle didn’t get there first.

“You dumbasses do know that kidnapping me was a terrible idea, right?” you asked them, finally betraying that you were awake. You opened your eyes while you tugged on your wrists. tied behind your back.You began working on getting the bangle off from under the ropes.

The turned to you, legitimately surprised that you were awake.

“You didn’t drug her enough!” One of them yelled. They looked like cheap robbers with masks over their faces. Three men.Three idiot men.

“It was the right dosage!” another replied in a whine. 

You rolled your eyes.

 _Loki?_ you thought, trying to see if he could hear you.You had a feeling that he would be listening for signs from you.

/Kat!? The girls told me what happened. Are you ok?/ Loki demanded once he caught your signal.

_Yeah, I’m fine. Some dumbasses decided kidnapping me for ransom was a good idea. Any chance Tony or Jarvis can deactivate the bangle from a distance? I can’t get it off._

“Shut it, bitch. Your uncle is rich and will pay to get you back in one piece,” the first one snapped at you.

You just started laughing.These men were extremely dumb. “My brother and my husband are both extremely powerful supers,” you reminded them.Ok, maybe the general population of Earth didn’t know you were soulbound to Loki. And they wouldn’t know that meant married by Asgardian culture. “And Loki doesn’t give a shit if he kills you to get me back,” They all looked shocked and stared at each other as you gave them this new information. “Gods, you guys are dumbasses. Just let me go now and we can forget this stupidity even happened,”

/3...2...1...have fun storming the castle/ Loki told you, quoting the Princess Bride.Why had you ever let him watch that movie?/I’ll be there soon to help you clean up/ he promised.

You grinned up at them, knowing this would be worth the ache in your mind. You flicked your hand and created a small flame to burn the ropes away from your hands, careful not to burn yourself too.

“Why is she grinning like that?” one of them asked, starting to get scared.They were finally starting to realize something was amiss.

“Because you dumbasses also neglected to find out that I’m a super too,” you told them as you got to your feet, throwing out your hands in the same instant. Flames rose around the morons. “Self rescuing princess,” you told them, fighting through the pain in your head, while you herded them together in the flames.

/Hurry, Loki. I can’t control the flames very long/ you reminded him, your voice stronger to him since you could use telepathy again. You grabbed a nearby spool of rope and used telekinesis to tie it around and around them and lowered the flames once they were all tied together.

Loki, Tony, and the girls all showed up a few minutes later. You had taken a seat on the chair again, watching over your kidnappers and making sure they didn’t try anything. The boys ran to you while Nat called in the report of the attack. You stood and let Loki and Tony hug you.

“I’m fine,” you told them while they fretted over you.

“Kat, I’m sorry!” Nat told you when she got off of the phone with Fury.

You shook your head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault these guys thought they could ransom me for money from Uncle Tony,” you told her easily.It was just a typical day as an Avenger. “They were really incompetent too, since they didn’t know about Loki.” You grumbled, though of course you were grateful for incompetent kidnappers.They were way better than the other king.

“They’ll be locked up for a long time, don’t worry,” Nat reassured you. 

You smiled at her and let Tony and Loki take you home. It took the entire trip home to convince them you were ok. You had saved yourself and managed to control your powers enough for the task. It had hurt like hell, but it was over. You had survived and proven myself. The pain would fade.

When you got back to the compound, Loki stopped you and Tony both. “Darling, we are out of time. my family is demanding our return. We have to leave tomorrow morning. Will you be ok enough to travel?” Loki asked. You smiled at him.

“That’ll be fine, Loki. you told you, I’m ok,”

“I still don’t like this,” Tony grumbled, though he had no say in the matter.You were over 18 and you were on summer break from school. 

“Tony...” you warned.

He held up his hands in surrender. “It’s already been approved. I understand how important it is. Just be careful,” he told you.

“I’m always careful,” They both laughed at you, clearly disbelieving you. You sighed, kicked off your heels and started storming up to your room. You didn’t have to deal with either of them if they were just going to laugh at you.

Loki was beside you in an instant. “Are you sure you’re alright, darling?” he asked. He had such honest concern that you couldn’t be made at him for asking again.

“I’m fine, Loki. Thanks for your help,” he shook his head.

“All I did was talk to Tony to talk to Jarvis.That stupid AI still doesn’t like me,” he reminded you.

“Which I needed to get out of that situation on my own,”  You grinned up at him, intending to change the subject. “So, do you like my dress?” you asked with mock innocence. He laughed and swept you into a hug the second you were on your floor.

“I love your dress, my dear, but not as much as you love you,” he replied and leaned down to kiss you. You stood in the hallway kissing for awhile, before you both had to accept that you needed to get up early to make the journey to Asgard.

He gave you too big of a grin when the decision had been made. “What?” you asked him suspiciously.

“You told those men that I am your husband,” he replied with a wicked smile.

You blushed, and felt yourself getting defensive. You held up your left hand where he could see the swirls of colors, the ones that matched the colors on his own arm. “I had to impress upon them how stupid they were. And... well...what else do you call this?” you asked him, flushing even redder.

“I call it a soulbond, darling,” he replied as he took your hand and kissed the back of it.

“Silly Trickster,” you laughed at him and finally consented to go back to your room and get some sleep before your big day the next day.


	39. Chapter 39

Loki woke you early the next morning. You would have grumbled at him for waking you, but you saw how anxious he was, so you got up to get ready for the day. You really didn’t have much to do, since Loki was doing all of the work.You just had to stay awake and go with him to Asgard.Nothing major. “Are you ready for this?” you asked him. He seemed really nervous.

“No, but we must do it anyway,” he replied, sounding as nervous as he looked. He used magic to change your clothes into outfits better suited to Asgard. A swishy elegant awesome blue dress for youwith a golden braided cord belt, and a green tunic and black leggings for him. “Will you assist me?” he asked, holding out his hand to you as he summoned the spell book to the other hand.

You smiled up at him and placed your hand in his. “Of course. What do you need me to do?” You’d do anything you could to help him.

He held the spellbook where you could see it. “Recite the words with me and imagine the portal opening,” he instructed easily. “We will do the spell together.” That sounded difficult and beyond your skills, but you took a deep breath and nodded. He had been teaching you to use the magic from Asgard, though it really felt more like remembering something you’d forgotten than learning something new. With the soulbond, you had gained a lot more than just his powers, you’d also gotten all of the learning he’d acquired in 500 years of studying. It was just a matter of digging through everything you’d been given to find what you needed. You recited the words together and you pulled your magic into it, focusing on the portal you needed to make. It flared to life in front of you once you finished the last word. “Very well done, darling.” His voice was full of pride. “You opened it on your own,” he added with a smirk.

“You lied to me?” you demanded. Loki never lied to you.He’d sworn you the truth.

He shook his head. “I did no such thing,” he replied innocently.

You glared at him. “You said we would do it together,” you reminded him sourly.

“And so we did. I simply did no use any of my power,” he explained.

You rolled your eyes at him. “That is really close to a lie, Trickster,” you grumbled at him, but laughed anyway. He vanished the spellbook and placed your arm on his so you could walk through the portal together. You appeared on the other side in Loki’s suite in the palace on Asgard. The portal snapped shut behind you. Loki steadied you as you stumbled, shocked at the drain of power the portal took.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“I just haven’t done any spells that big before,” you reminded him, but nodded to reassure him. He nodded and gave you a minute to collect yourself.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked.

You shook your head.You weren’t at all ready for this, though you’d been preparing for days. “No, but it needs doing,” you replied.

Loki sighed, he was nervous about this, though he tried to hide it.“That it does. Time to face the music.”

With that, you left the safety of Loki’s suite and headed straight for the throne room. It was still strange to have the servants bowing to you as you passed. It was stranger that they weren’t only saying ‘prince’ to him in greeting, but were also addressing you as ‘princess’. Loki had to stop youfrom stopping to greet and chat with all of them. Or to stop and tell them you weren’t a princess.It was hard to tell which. Two of the guards opened the doors to the throne room for you and announced your presence.

You were beyond grateful in that moment that Loki had spent so much time prepping you for what was coming and what was expected of you. You took the prescribed steps into the room, until you were standing just below the thrones. Loki dropped to one knee in front of his parents. You dipped into an extremely low curtsy that it took a week of work with Loki to master. Apparently, when he was bored or felt like it, he would shift to female form for the fun of it and go to balls, so he knew exactly how to move and act in the dresses of Asgard. It was a great help to have someone who knew how to do what you needed when you had to learn it all.

“Father, Mother, I come with an announcement,” Loki started, still on one knee, his head bowed.You knew he hated being on his knees in front of Odin.You knew he hated showing any submission to anyone, but he was a prince of the realm and would play his part. 

You were so incredibly grateful that this speech was his to make.

“Rise and make your announcement,” the king ordered. This Odin was very different from the one in the movies.But then again, Loki’s story was different than the movies and myths portrayed. 

Loki rose, and took your left hand, helping you to rise as well. “I have not only found my soulbond, but she has accepted my proposal and graciously agreed to the binding,” Loki announced, loudly enough for everyone present to be able to hear. There were cheers from those gathered. Frigga jumped off of her throne to come hug Loki, and then you.

“I am so glad for you, Loki,” she told him with true affection, hugging him and kissing his cheek. “Congratulations, darling. Though I wonder why you could not have waited to have the ceremony here?” she asked.

Loki looked sad, remembering you dying in his arms. “It was as you said, Mother,” he replied softly, not wanting his words heard by everyone.“Thank you for preparing me for that moment or the love of my life would have been lost to me forever,” he added as he wrapped an arm around you to pull youtight to his side, as if he was afraid for your safety. As if he were afraid to lose you.“When I was a child, Mother had a premonition. She insisted that I practice the ritual words every day for years, until she was sure I could recite them properly, at speed, in duress. She said it would be important, but would not tell me why. I know now,” he explained for your benefit.

“Leave us!” The king ordered everyone who wasn’t family. They all vanished from the throne room in moments. “I demand that you show me how this happened. Now.” Odin demanded of Loki. You saw Loki flinch from that tone and knew then where Loki’s bruises on his heart had come from.Maybe the movies weren’t so wrong after all.

“Darling, you do not need to stay for this,” Loki told you gently. He didn’t want you rewatching your own death. “I can have one of the servants direct you to the library...” he suggested.

You shook your head. “I’ll stay by your side,” you replied. You didn’t want to leave him, especially not to face this again. He took a couple of steps back, pulling you with him and summoned an illusion in front of you. It was an image of you sitting on the couch in the common room back home. It looked like a movie, the quality was so good. You didn’t know how he did it, but he used the illusion to show the attack on the compound, how you’d shoved Loki out of the way of the bullets and taken them yourself. You saw his horror and grief as he ran to your side, watched as you faded in and out of consciousness. You heard all of his speeches, his demanding you to stay with him and not die. He then recited the words he had been spending all week making sure you had memorized. He’d also made you learn the response, aka your lines.

“You did this just to save her life!” Odin roared. You flinched back from his tone as did everyone else. “You spit upon our traditions and culture just to save the life of some mortal you met on your travels,” he continued, throwing more verbal darts at Loki and you.

“That is incorrect, Father,” Loki replied, his voice calm and disinterested. You knew better. You knew that calm wasn’t real.

“Enough, Odin,” Frigga spoke up. Her voice was soft and calm, but it still stopped Odin cold. “I saw these events many years ago. This was foretold and it was the correct course of action,”

Odin hesitated. “You are certain?” he asked. He still wanted to be angry at Loki. You took Loki’s hand, trying to be reassuring.

“I am.”

“Very well,” he finally said. “Though I cannot say I am pleased with your decision. If your Lady Mother does not object, then I shall not either. In a week’s time, we will have the proper ceremony.” He announced. With that, you were finally able to escape. You bowed and curtsied to the king and queen again before you made what was hopefully a graceful exit from the throne room.

The second you were safely out of the throne room, Loki wrapped you in a tight hug. “I am sorry about him. We have never seen eye to eye. Please do not let him get to you,” he whispered. You had a feeling it was more for his benefit than your.

“We’ll be fine, Loki,” you told him.

“Congratulations, brother!” Came the booming voice of Thor. The hulking man wrapped both of you in a hug and lifted you off of our feet. “Let me see,” he demanded when he set you down. He grabbed Loki’s hand to look at the pattern of magic. Loki growled and tried to pull his hand back, but you saw it was a ruse, he was really pleased by the attention. You laughed in response to their banter. Thor turned to you and took your left hand, which you gladly let him do.“Welcome to the family, little sister,” he bid you and kissed your knuckles. You smiled up at him. He was such a gentle caring soul. He would make a great king one day.

“Uncle Loki!” you heard Torun’s voice call from down the hall as she came pattering over on tiny toddler legs. Thor’s daughter was adorable with long blonde hair and a warrior’s build, even as a toddler. Thor pulled you out of the way before you got trampled by the toddler intent on seeing her uncle. Loki grinned and scooped up the toddler, swinging her around so she giggled.

“Hello Rune,” he greeted her toddler warmly, settling the youngster on his hip. “How have you been?” The two of them babbled for awhile as Sif, Thor’s wife joined you.For all that she was a warrior, she was also a court lady, though she tried her best to hide it. 

“Welcome home, Loki,” she greeted him with a smile. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Lady,” she told you formally.

“It is ‘Sister’ now, not ‘Lady Y/N,” Thor corrected with a grin. Sif gave him a smile in return.

“Of course,” she replied and went to go kiss her husband. She reached out and took your hand after she had. “Come. I’m sure our Loki has neglected to eat in his excitement to come home,” she grinned at Loki.

“That...may... have been the case,” he admitted, looking sheepish.

“Shame on you, letting your soulbond go hungry,” Sif scolded.

“Shame!” giggled Torun.

“Yes, yes, shame on me. Might I have my beloved back now so we might remedy the situation?” Loki asked with the tone of exasperation you knew he didn’t feel.

You yelped and giggled when Thor grabbed you around the waist and threw you over his shoulder. “You will have to come get her, Brother,” he laughed. He was so gentle and kind that you couldn’t even be mad, or uncomfortable with him. Plus you knew him from his time in the tower.You reached a hand back for Loki, but Thor stepped forward before Loki’s fingers touched your. “Come, Brother, our friends are waiting!”

“Thor!” you laughed and slapped his back, hoping he’d put you down now that his game was over. Apparently it wasn’t over yet.

“Apologies, Sister, but you know he will just skulk off to the library and not see all of his friends if he does not have proper incentive to join us. You are our insurance that he will come play with us instead of just his books,”

“Thor!” Loki called as he followed you, but he was laughing too. Any of you could have stopped the game at any point. Loki and you both had enough magic. “You best not hurt my soulbond,” Loki grumbled at his brother. Sif had claimed one of Loki’s arms and was keeping him a pace or so behind Thor. Torun was bouncing between the two pairs, laughing and giggling. She was left with a nursemaid and playmates and the rest of you continued on your merry way to where their friends all waited.


	40. Chapter 40

/Careful with her, Oaf. She was raped recently and since you have abducted us, I have not been able to take her to a soul healer yet/ Loki warned as you were walking. You had the feeling that he was trying to spare you by speaking telepathically, but you overheard what he was saying. Something with the soulbond had caused you to be able to hear him.You felt yourself blushing that he was even making the warning to his brother. Surely, Thor wasn’t going to hurt you.You knew Thor and lived with him whenever he visited Midgard.

In one fluid movement, Thor turned to face Loki and a glare. He had set you on your feet, holding you protectively against his side. You squeaked in surprise as he did. It had just happened so fast.Thor wasn’t usually fast. 

“It wasn’t me!” Loki told them both, sounding indignant that they’d even thought he’d be capable of such a thing. Sif was looking at him now too, her sword drawn. She was the goddess of war after all. “Gods, how little do you think of me?” He glared at Thor.

Thor gave him an apologetic look.“Apologies, Brother. You know as well as I that the question had to be asked,” Thor finally said, apparently trusting Loki’s outrage.

Loki nodded, reluctantly accepting the apology. “Now may I have my beloved back?” Loki grumbled at them, trying to pull himself out of Sif’s grip, to no avail.She’d grabbed him and drawn her sword to keep him away from you.

“No, you may not,” Thor replied pleasantly. For such a large, muscled, man, he moved extremely fast. He had let you go and in the next instant had not only rushed over to Loki, but had folded his brother over his shoulder.

“Thor!” Loki yelled indignantly. He hit Thor’s back much harder than you had in that position. You and Sif couldn’t do anything but laugh at Loki’s misfortune.

Thor chuckled. “Come, little brother. Our friends await!” Thor announced and set off again. Sif linked her arm with yours and you followed behind the brothers. Loki pounded on Thor’s back with no effect. He finally sighed and allowed the indignity. You and Sif were still laughing at their antics.

Thor turned and threw open the doors to one of the smaller feast halls. “This is where the younger members of the court tend to gather,” Sif explained to you as Thor proceeded into the room, standing tall and proud as usual. There were cheers from inside.

“Friends! My brother has returned!” Thor announced, setting Loki back on his feet and holding Loki by the shoulders so he couldn’t run off. It was such a practiced movement that it was clearly a common one. There were more cheers at that. Thor waved to you and Sif half dragged you into the room with her. Everyone in the room stood when you entered and you felt yourself turn red in embarrassment at all the attention.

“Lady Sif,” came the respectful, much tamer greeting to Sif. She dipped her head in acknowledgment of their greeting.

“Friends, Prince Loki’s soulbond, Lady Y/N, has come to visit as well,” Sif dragged you forward and pushed you next to Loki where you’d be presented to all of their friends. “She is not used to your rowdy ways, so be nice to her.” There was a threat in her words and you could tell that none of them would argue with her.

You were given places of honor in the middle of the table, surrounded by their friends. They were a rowdy bunch, but they were fun. Thor set a giant mug of beer down in front of both yourself and Loki. Loki picked yours up and handed it back to Thor. “She is 17, Oaf,” he explained. Thor considered that for a moment, and then set two giant mugs of beer in front of you.

“She is still growing!” he announced and went to go sit with his wife.

You just laughed as Loki vanished the beer. “He means well...” Loki said with a sigh of exasperation. You giggled.

“He does,” you agreed. Loki summoned a non-alcoholic fruit drink for you. You mostly sat and listened to the conversations around you, trying to get to know all of these people. You also ate way too much food as the plates were passed around. Loki insisted you had to try each of the delicacies. “It’s looking at me,” you complained about one fish dish.

“Of course, darling, that is how you know it is fresh,” he replied and put the dish on your plate anyway. You sighed and gave it a try, despite the fact that it was looking at you. It was one of the most delicious things you had ever eaten, just like everything else they had there.

“Move the tables!” one of the rowdy men called once everyone had eaten. Loki swept you up from your chair quickly before you could get trampled by all of the men shoving the tables aside.

“What are they doing?” you asked Loki as you held on tightly to his arm.

“They are going to dance. They think it is entertaining,” Loki rolled his eyes. You looked up at him confused.

“You like dancing,” you reminded him, wondering what was different.

“Not this kind,” he grumbled. You saw what he meant quickly. These were rowdy dances, just like the men, more of a square or contra dance than anything elegant that Loki would enjoy.

“Come, Sister!” Thor called. He took your arm and dragged you out onto the floor.

“I don’t know how!” you protested. He shook off your protests and soon you were spinning and dancing our way across the floor with everyone else. They weren’t offended if someone was clumsy or didn’t know the steps. They were all patient and kind as you were passed from partner to partner through the dance.

You finally ended back in Loki’s arms, laughing. “Come along, darling, it is time to escape this madness,” he told you and you slipped out of the room while Thor and the others were still laughing and dancing.

He led you through the quiet halls up to the library where you could relax in the quiet, surrounded by the books. It was nice to actually be able to peruse the books today. Last time you had been there, you hadn’t been able to read them. It was nice that you had gotten the ability to understand Loki’s native language as part of the soulbond. You ended up curled on one of the couches by a fire enjoying a quiet afternoon with the books after you had found a copy of Loki’s favorite tales about Hiccup the Viking. He grinned when he saw what you had chosen. “You remembered,” he commented, obviously pleased.

“Of course I did,” you replied with a smile.

That evening, you had to go to a formal dinner with Loki’s family. It was a much more quiet affair than brunch had been. Odin didn’t seem pleased with either Loki or you, but Frigga seemed overjoyed at how happy Loki seemed.

You and Loki went for a walk just outside the city so you could see the stars and he could tell youall the constellations that were so very different from the ones back home.

It was late when you finally walked back into the palace. Loki walked you to the suite that was your the last time we had visited, but it was locked. It wasn’t terribly long afterwards with Frigga came to find you. “Mother, what is going on?” Loki asked her. “Was my lady assigned a different suite this visit for some reason?”

Frigga inclined her head. “Your father was quite insistent...” she replied. Loki’s eyes grew wide and you heard him growl.

“What’s wrong?” you asked him, placing your hand on his arm to calm him.

His expression lightened when he looked at you and you saw the Frigga was even more pleased. “Father has decided that since we are soulbound you are to stay in your suite,” he explained. “I will fight him on it,” he told you, taking a step to go track down his dad. You tightened your grip on his arm.

“It’ll be fine,” you told him firmly. “It’s not worth getting into an argument over,”

He sighed, but finally relented. “Very well, darling,” he kissed the top of your head. “Thank you for letting us know, Mother,” he told Frigga. He kissed her cheek goodnight and the two of you returned to Loki’s suite. “I am perfectly happy sleeping on the couch,” Loki announced the second you were safely in his rooms.

“I know you are,” you told him. “But there’s no need. We’re in each other’s rooms half the time anyway because of nightmares,” you reminded him.

“I know. I am just upset with Father for forcing this on you. I know for a fact that Thor passed along the information I shared with him earlier. Father wants to prove that this is a sham of a soulbond, and he thinks this is a way to do it,” he told you as he paced. You grabbed his arm as he walked past you.

“Loki, it’s fine. I promise. I trust you. We’re just going to sleep, just like any other night. Except tonight you’ll pretend that one of the books on your bookshelf is extremely interesting while I find something to wear that resembles pajamas,” you told him with a smile. He chuckled and leaned down to kiss you.

“What on Midgard did I ever do to deserve you?” he asked with a laugh. He did help you look through the closet and dresser. Yo found that the servants had moved things around and had left clothes for you .

“Is this really common bedwear?” you asked him as you held up the flimsy nightgown to inspect it. He chuckled, but you saw his blush. He at least had the grace to go pretend his bookshelf was extremely interesting while you slipped into the dress. It had spaghetti straps and went down to your knees. It was a luxuriously silky material and you weren’t sure it actually hid anything…

You went to find him once you were dressed and touched his arm. He turned to face you and blushed nearly purple. “Ravishing as ever, darling,” he told you. You felt yourself blushing this time. He kissed you and led you back to the bedroom. He shouldn’t have worried about having to share the bed tonight. His bed was so big that two other people could be in it and you still might not have all touched. “I love you, darling,” he told you as the lights dimmed in the room.

“I love you too,” you replied sleepily. It had been a big day and his bed was so comfortable, that you were asleep almost instantly.


	41. Chapter 41

“How have you managed to steal all of the blankets, all of the bed, and lay on top of me?” Loki grumbled sometime in the middle of the night. You opened your eyes to find out what he was talking about. Somehow you had cocooned yourself in the blankets and had your head resting on his chest. He was also trapped on the very edge of the bed, nearly falling off.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, scooting back over to your side of the bed and unwrapping the blankets to spread them back out on the bed. You turned your back to him, feeling uncomfortable at being called out for your bad behavior.

“I was teasing, darling. It’s ok,” Loki told you. gently. You looked over at him, still feeling a bit bruised and vulnerable, though you didn’t understand why. “Love, don’t cry,” Loki told you just as softly and gently as tears ran down your face. He pulled you into his arms and you sobbed onto his bare chest. “It’s ok, love. Everything’s ok,” he told you over and over until you could finally get control of your emotions. “Darling, please tell me why you’re crying,” he whispered when your tears finally slowed.

“I-I don’t know,” you whimpered. His teasing had just been one straw too many on your strained emotions. Too much had happened too quickly.

He nodded and just held you in his arms.“It’s ok, darling,” he told you gently. “Shall we get a cup of tea?” he asked you with a smile in his voice.

You smiled up at him.Of course he remembered that tea came after bad dreams and heavy emotions.“That sounds like an excellent idea,” you replied. He helped you out of the giant bed and had a Cheshire cat grin on his face.

He took your hand and you left his suite in your pajamas and barefoot and padded through the halls of the palace. He made a game of avoiding the servants and you giggled like children on your adventure to the kitchens to find the tea.

“Prince Loki,” the servants in the kitchen greeted you. They tried to hide their smiles at your childish antics. You made your tea and sat on the floor in the way of all of the servants while you drank it. It was so silly and innocent and fun that you found yourself feeling so much better.

“Brother, have you snuck down to the kitchens again?” came Thor’s booming voice. You looked up from where you and Loki were sitting on the floor in the kitchen with tea and a cake some of the servants had brought over to you when you weren’t paying attention. Quickly, Loki summoned a blanket and handed it to you.You blushed when you realized you were still wearing the short skimpy silk nightgown. You hadn’t even realized it while Loki and you were on your childish adventure. You wrapped the blanket around yourself before Thor found you.

“Brother, why are you here?” Loki asked grumpily.

“Sorry, Thor. Loki has misplaced his manners somewhere. What he meant was, would you like to join our tea party?” you asked, looking up at Thor.

“I’m here looking for you two. Mother woke me to tell you to get your soulbond back to bed,” he addressed that last part to Loki.

“Why’d she wake you?” you asked, curious.

“Because she knows I’ll make sure baby brother does what he is told. And you need to get back to sleep,” he aimed the last comment at you.

“Any particular reason?” you asked, wondering why this was so important at whatever middle of the night time it was.

He shrugged. “Tomorrow is apparently a big day and she said you will need all your strength for it. Now are you coming, or do I have to carry you there?” Thor asked, holding a hand down to you.He looked a little too eager to carry you to bed. His tone was light, but you knew he’d do whatever Frigga had told him. You sighed and reached up a hand so he could haul you to your feet. “Ah, being carried, excellent choice!” Thor exclaimed. He had you scooped up in his arms, wrapped securely in the blanket a moment later. You made an indignant noise at him while Loki jumped to his feet spluttering and complaining about Thor’s behavior. “I apologize, kind servants for the trouble my siblings caused you,” Thor told them with a head nod in place of a bow.

“Thor!” Loki whined as Thor took off with you in his arms heading back to your suite.

“Come along little brother,” Thor replied. “I would like to return to bed tonight too and cannot do that until the boon for Mother is completed,”

“Thor! I can walk on my own,” you protested.

“Yes, but this is faster. You two have caused me enough trouble tonight,” Thor replied with a chuckle. “Not that I mind trouble, but Torun will have me up early. Plus, if I have you, Loki will follow without dragging his heels. We have been through this debate a lot over the years. He was always sneaking to the kitchen, or library, or roofs, or all sorts of silly places in the middle of the night and I would have to drag him back to bed kicking and screaming. And do not let him tell you it was just when we were children. Just before he left on his journey, Mother sent me to collect him from the library in the middle of the night and return him to bed.”

“We got new volumes in from the archaeological dig,” Loki protested.

“Which is why I had to carry you to bed after you did not sleep for four days translating the ancient texts,” Thor looked over his shoulder as he addressed Loki. “This is much easier with your presence, little sister,” he told you warmly. He set you down outside of Loki’s suite. He pulled a small vial of liquid from his pocket and handed it to you. “This is from Mother for a dreamless sleep,” he told you while Loki came up to you. You sighed, but you could tell from his expression that he wasn’t going to leave you alone until you had drank it in his presence. So you unstoppered the vial and downed the contents. Thor took the empty vial back from you with a smile. “Get some sleep, little sister. Stay in your suite the rest of the night, Loki. Do not make me come hunting you again,” Thor turned and left you while the warm feeling of the potion filled you.

Loki wrapped an arm around you. “Come, darling. Let’s get you back to bed while you can still stand. Mother’s potions are always quite effective,” he told you as he opened the suite door. After a few unsteady, wobbly, steps he swept you up into his arms. “Quite effective,” he repeated with a sigh, since you were falling asleep on your feet. “I have been on the receiving end of that particular potion before. Frequently as you have heard from the oaf,” he told you as he tucked you into bed. He joined you, wrapping a cool arm around you. You moved enough to lay your head on his chest and fell asleep listening to the comforting sound of his heartbeat.


	42. Chapter 42

You found out early the next morning why Frigga had been so insistent that you needed to get back to bed. And why she had insisted you needed proper rest.Loki shook and prodded and pestered youawake in the morning. He had to fight through the sleeping potion to get you awake and out of bed. He had to threaten to dump you in a pond outside to wake you up before you finally stood on your own. He steered you to the bathroom and told you that you would feel better after a bath. The hot water did help wash the last of the sleep away.

Loki had left an outfit on the counter outside of the bath for you. You smiled at his thoughtfulness and put on the clothes he had provided. You were surprised that the outfit was was much simpler than yesterday’s fancy dress. It was a simple blue tunic and soft black leggings. You ran a bit of magic through your hair to dry it and went to go find your Loki.

He was waiting for you on the couch in his sittingroom reading a book, as per usual. He looked up when you came in and gave you a beaming smile. “Feeling better?” he asked.You nodded; the shower really had helped. He motioned for you to join him on the couch. You kissed him first, but then sat next to him. “Turn around,” he told you, taking your shoulders and shifting you so your back was to him. He ran his long thin fingers through your hair and slowly began to braid it, talking as he did. “Mother’s potions pack quite punch even for us. I’m not sure she took into account that you’re human when she prepared the one for you. I’m glad she was at least not too far off in the preparation. I’ll have to let her know she made it a bit too strong for you though. When I was young, I thought it was a punishment for having to be dragged back to bed to have to take one of her sleeping potions. I realized eventually that she intended it as a kindness to make sure I actually got some sleep.” You heard the fond smile in his voice. You also didn’t mind that he was braiding your hair, it seemed to soothe him and he was surprisingly good at it. You ended up with it braided back away from your face with the rest hanging in loose curls down your back. “We have just enough time to get breakfast before your appointment.” He announced when he was finished with your hair.

“What appointment?” you asked, confused. He hadn’t told you about any appointments.

He sighed and hesitated, but finally answered when you wouldn’t give up.You could stare him into giving up and that was the skill you used not. “I am taking you to see the soul healer,” he finally said. He must have sensed your reluctance to go along with that plan. Smart man.

“Loki, I don’t need a shrink. I’m fine,” you told him heatedly. It wasn’t acceptable to openly see psychiatrists on Earth. It showed weakness.At least that’s what you’d always believed. 

“Darling, I love you dearly, but you are not ok. There is no shame in not being ok. I feel the wounds on your soul and I feel your heart bleeding. If the wounds were on your flesh instead, you would not deny that you must see a healer.” His tone was gentle and kind. He was coaxing and you knew you were going to fail. “You might complain about having to stay in the hospital, but you would not deny that you needed to be there,” he added with a smirk.Your hatred of the hospital was legendary.

You sighed. “Fine,” you finally replied. You didn’t have a choice especially since he was right. “But I’m not going to like it,” you grumbled instead of laughing. His face fell and he looked sad. You felt bad instantly, he had only been trying to help. “I’m sor-”

“No, darling. You are correct.You will not like it,” he said sadly. He pulled you into his arms for his reassurance instead of your. He shook off the mood quickly and stood, pulling you up beside him. “We should go to breakfast before Thor comes looking for us.”

You laughed and took his hand. “You could stop Thor with magic,” you reminded him, curious as to why he never took that action.

Loki sighed heavily and looked grumpy.“I cannot. There are two reasons: firstly, according to Mother and her many lectures of the years, it is against the rules of fair play in brotherly arguments unless he does something truly offensive; secondly and most importantly, my magic does not work against my brothers,” he sounded grumpy. You laughed, but filed that piece of information away.

You had a nice quiet breakfast with Thor and Sif. Odin and Frigga had already eaten and Torun was elsewhere doing toddler things. “Loki, you and Lady Y/N should probably be going soon,” Sif reminded him gently when you had dawdled too long at breakfast. You and Loki both looked away from her. You were dawdling and she was ruining our dawdling.

“You are correct, Sister,” Loki finally answered. You bid them goodbye and promised to see them later. Loki led you through the palace halls, his arm wrapped around you as you walked. “I’m sorry, love, but this is going to be hell on you. It is important healing, but the process shrinks months and years of emotional and psychological healing into a few hours,”

“That sounds awful,” you finally replied, getting scared.

“It will be,” he agreed. “But darling, I can feel your soul bleeding from the wounds there.” You thought you understood what he meant. You had been raped, had your powers blasted open, and killed two people, all fairly recently. You knew you needed this, much as you hated to admit it.

You entered a room in the healing wing. You stopped short, surprised when you saw Frigga waiting for you. Loki just chuckled at you as he pulled you the rest of the way into the room. “Darling, my Mother is the most gifted healer in the world. You should not be surprised that it is she who will be doing the healing,”

“But she’s the Queen,” you hissed in his ear while Frigga was laughing at us. Mostly at youyou was sure. That was too high an honor for a little earth girl.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. “Darling, you forget that you are a princess now that you are my soulbond. It would be an insult for you to be seen by anyone less than the best healer in the realm. Now kindly sit down so Mother can heal you,” he steered you into the chair directly in front of Frigga’s chair and held you there with his hands on your shoulders.

“Shall we begin, dear?” Frigga asked, holding out her hands palm up. You were scared, but nodded and placed your hands on top of hers. Loki let go of your shoulders when it was clear you was going to behave. An instant later, Frigga and her healing magic were in your mind. She was no-nonsense in her approach to healing. The first thing she did was heal the part of your mind that had gotten blasted away when the blocks on your powers had gotten ripped away. She was able to heal the control centers there when all of the healers at the compound hadn’t been able to.

The next hours of healing were hell. You visited all of the memories that were making your soul bleed and worked through your psychological issues with things that had happened, all the way back to the death of your parents. It was years of healing, years of learning to deal with the things you had done, and had been done to you, all condensed into a few long torturous hours. The scars on your soul would always be there, but after the healing, you could live with them and not let them eat youalive.

You and Frigga both blinked back to reality at the same time when the healing spells ended. Loki was waiting for you, reading a book as per usual. He looked up when you moved. “Is it finished?” he asked Frigga. She nodded.

“It is,” she replied. She looked tired too, but not nearly as much as you felt. Loki came over to you and offered both of you a hand.

“I have a surprise for my two favorite ladies,” he told you both warmly. You both smiled up at him and took his offered hands at nearly the same time. He helped you to our feet, which was necessary as you were both stiff from sitting in the same position for hours. Frigga placed a hand on his arm, apparently used to being escorted by her sons. You took a step back, letting him have the moment with his Mother. He gave you a look, grabbed your hand, and made sure it was on his arm too. “I am escorting _both_ of my favorite ladies,” he repeated himself firmly.

You zoned out during the walk, too exhausted from the hours of hell. Thankfully, the walk wasn’t long and it ended in a private dining room where Loki had an elegant lunch set out for you. He pulled out Frigga’s chair first, and then your. He was looking extra concerned over you. You tried convincing him that you were alright, but stopped before you even started. He would spot the lie. “Do not fear, Y/N. It is perfectly normal to feel fragile after a soul healing. It was also a quite a bit of magic and work, dear. It is also normal to be exhausted. I’m sure Loki has a nice quiet afternoon planned for you,” she explained with a smile. You smiled back at her and managed to eat the delicious meal Loki had acquired for you while they chatted and caught up. You tried hard to pay attention to their conversation and join in, but it was so hard when your brain felt like mush and your very soul was sore.

“Thank you for everything today, Mother,” Loki told her. “Shall I escort you back to the throne room?” he asked. She smiled at him.

“Anything for you, dear, and it was a pleasure to help your soulbond. I, however, am perfectly capable of returning to the rest of my duties without an escort,”

Loki gave her a look. “Mother...” She held up a hand to stop his protest. He continued anyway. “You raised me to be a gentleman. A gentleman would not leave his mother without an escort,” he added. She smiled at him.

“And you will not,” she agreed. Torun burst into the room.

“Grandma!” she exclaimed, running to meet Frigga. Frigga had gotten up so she could hug the toddler.

“Right on time, Torun,” she told her. “See, my escort has arrived. Thank you for lunch, Loki. I will see you and Y/N at dinner tonight,” she looked at you more softly, more gently. “Feel better, dear. It will get better, you promise,”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” you replied formally, standing to curtsy to her. You still weren’t sure around her. She was so open and friendly, and obviously loved your affect on her son, but she was also still the queen. The moment she and Torun had left on whatever adventure Torun had planned, Loki swept you up in his arms. You didn’t even protest, just wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Quiet afternoon, right?” you asked him softly.

“Nice quiet afternoon,” he promised. “Just what you need.” He carried you to a quiet nook in a garden surrounded by rose bushes. He summoned the book about Hiccup the Viking for you and you sat in the garden together for the afternoon. “How are you feeling?” he asked, hours later.

“Like my brain is mush and my soul is bruised,” you replied, snuggling closer to him on the bench you were sitting on.

Loki chuckled.“That sounds about right,” he agreed. You stayed there until the bells tolled in the evening. “We have to go to dinner. I swear we will escape as soon as is seemly,” Loki promised you. You sighed, but nodded. He held out a hand to you and when you took it, a brief green light of his magic shimmered over you and you were both dressed in formal wear for the dinner. He held out his arm to you in a formal bow. You giggled and placed your hand on his arm, allowing him to escort youto dinner like a princess, forgetting that here, you actually were one.

Dinner was a long, boring affair and lasted way too long. Especially since Odin kept wanting to steal Loki’s attention all night and hold him there talking forever and ever. Thor came over to save you. “Brother, stay and catch up with Father. I will escort your soulbond back to your suite safely,” he offered. Loki looked over at you and you saw the pure hope in his expression that his father was actually going to give him some proper attention and maybe some praise.

“I’ll see you back at our suite after you’ve caught up with your Father,” you replied. You was trying really hard to be as polite as everyone else in this setting. It was hard when you was so exhausted from the healing earlier. Thor offered you a hand. You took it and let him escort you from the room. “Where’s Sif and Torun?” you asked him once you were safely out of the dining hall.

“They returned to our suite already. Torun was sleepy. I will let Sif know you were concerned for her safety. She will appreciate the sentiment,” he smiled at you.

“You don’t have to walk me home,” you told him. “I’m perfectly capable of walking back to Loki’s suite alone. You should go be with your wife.”

He just gave you a look. “Sister, that is not how things are done. My brother entrusted me with your safety. I do not take that lightly. Also you are my sister. Your protection is my duty. And I like you, little imp. You are good for Loki and you make him happy. The least I can do is see you home after the healing you went through today,” you smiled up at him, but tugged him to a stop.

“Hold on for a second,” you managed to find enough concentration in your mushy brain to use magic to change your outfit from formal wear to Earth pajamas. You couldn’t concentrate enough to focus on clothes that would fit in on Asgard, so your magic picked what you knew. Flannel pajama pants and a short sleeved pajama top. “Much better,” you commented and took Thor’s arm again.

“My brother has given you the gift of his magic, I see,” Thor commented.

You nodded. “It came through the soulbond,” you explained. You had a feeling your words were slurring.Thor looked concerned. You held up a hand before he could get any ideas. “I don’t need you carrying me to bed,” you informed him firmly.

He pouted. “You’re no fun,” he complained, getting a laugh out of you . He walked you all the way to the door of Loki’s suite. “Stay in the suite tonight? I would rather not have to find you in the middle of the night again”

“We’ll try, but no promises,” you stuck your tongue out at him and ducked into the suite while he was still spluttering.

“Lock the door!” he yelled through the closed door. You sighed, but locked the door as you were bid. You curled up on the couch next to the fireplace with your book to wait for Loki to get back.


	43. Chapter 43

You woke to Loki lifting you from the couch and you stirred in his arms. “How was catching up with your dad?” you asked him softly, not truly awake, but awake enough to remember why you had been waiting up for him, even though you had failed at actually staying awake.

It was the thought that mattered.

“It was wonderful,” he replied with the brightest smile you could remember ever seeing on his face. He was so lit up that his father had finally given him some attention.

“I’m glad,” you told him sleepily, your voice a soft purr.

“You should not have waited up for me,” he scolded, but he was gentle and teasing, and was actually touched that you had. He tried to sound stern, but it came out lovingly exasperated.

“Didn’t. Fell asleep on the couch,” you reminded him.

He chuckled. “Bedtime, darling. We have nothing but big days for the rest of the week,” he reminded you . He settled you in the bed and joined you a minute later. He was surprised that you instantly curled up with him. Usually cuddling for sleeping only came after the nightmares. He didn’t complain, though, and you fell back asleep safely curled in your boyfriend’s arms.

Loki wasn’t lying when he said the rest of the week would be filled with nothing but big days. You barely saw him for the week, as you had to learn how to be a princess in the course of a few short days. Frigga and Sif spent every moment possible prepping you for the ceremony and in princess lessons. It was hard work when you had terrible American posture and no idea how to be a princess.

Suddenly, it was the day of the ceremony. Thor burst into your suite stupidly early, before the sun had even rose. “Thor!” you shrieked, pulling the blankets up to cover yourself, even though you weren’t indecent. Loki sat up and Thor grabbed him before he could look over at you and tossed him over his shoulder.

“Thor, while I’m sure your wife appreciates the view of your derriere, _I_ would much rather see my darling soulbond,” Loki commented dryly, while you giggled at their antics. You didn’t know what was going on, but it was fun.

“Tough luck, Brother. You shall just have to enjoy the view of my posterior instead. My soulbond has told me on numerous occasions that it is a wonderful view. It is tradition to not see your soulbond until the ceremony on the day of. You know this, Brother. It is bad luck,”

“We’re already bound, moron,” Loki replied grumpily.

“Tradition is tradition, Brother,” he somehow maneuvered to set Loki on his feet so Loki was facing away from the bed and couldn’t see you. “I am willing to be generous, this morning, though,” Thor added with a grin. He tied a strip of cloth over Loki’s eyes.

“How is this generous, Brother?” Loki demanded indignantly.

“I will allow your lovely soulbond to kiss you goodbye,” Thor announced, pleased with himself for being so generous.

“Ah, yes, very generous, Brother,” Loki replied sarcastically while you climbed out of the bed. You blushed a little as you was wearing an Asgardian nightdress, which was way more revealing than your normal pajamas. Thor didn’t seem phased, though. Loki turned around and you went over to him and stood on your toes so you could give him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed youdeeply, holding you against him while you wrapped your arms around his neck. You finally let him go when Thor cleared his throat. He grabbed Loki again and threw him back over his shoulder.

“I would hate for you to run into a wall, little brother,” Thor laughed at Loki’s indignant splutters. “Mother and Sif will be here soon to help you get ready, Sister,” Thor warned you before he left with Loki. You pulled a robe on and used magic to straighten the room quickly before curling yourself on the couch in the sittingroom with a book to wait for Frigga and Sif.

“They are perfect for each other,” Sif commented when they walking into the room later. You smiled up at them at set down your book, getting up from the couch at the same time.

“You expected?” you asked her in reply.

“Nothing less,”

“Dears, we have a lot of work to do before the ceremony,” Frigga reminded you gently. You stopped your laughing and let the day begin. Your hair and makeup were done expertly by the palace staff. It took forever since they did it without magic, but the results were amazing. You was dressed in an elegant blue gown with golden sparkles throughout, looking like stars that were falling into the border of golden sparkles at the bottom of the dress. It was gorgeous and fit you like a glove.

Once all the preparations were made, you went to the antechamber near the throne room. The procession would start from there. Loki was there with Thor already, waiting for you. Loki was blindfolded again and protesting the treatment. You laughed at him when you entered the room. “Thor, you are in charge. Sif and I will take our places,” Frigga told Thor, who gave her a bow.

“Of course, Mother,” he replied formally. Frigga and Sif left you.

“Now may I take this stupid blindfold off?” Loki whined at Thor. Both Brothers were dressed in their finest formal wear and had crowns on their heads.

“No, you may not,” Thor replied pleasantly. He turned to you. “You look beautiful, Sister dear,” he told you warmly. You had the feeling that he just wanted to rile Loki up.

He succeeded.

“I am sure Thor is correct, darling,” Loki finally said after he’d finished grumbling. He reached a hand up to his blindfold, but Thor slapped it back down immediately.

“No tricks, Brother. You shall see her soon. And don’t you even think about vanishing it with magic,” Thor added quickly. Loki huffed, but obeyed. He only did because it was important to his family. Loki tried to come over to kiss you, but Thor held him back by the back of the shirt.

You couldn’t help giggling at their antics.

You finally heard the music change. “Come along, Brother, our cue is soon.” You all left the antechamber. That music had indicated that all the guests were in place. You followed them, staying a couple steps behind them so you could wait for your cue. “The doors will open again when it is your cue, Sister,” Thor reminded you.

“Thank you,” you told him, feeling the nerves now that you were standing there. You kept trying to convince yourself that this wasn’t a real wedding. This was too soon in your relationship for a real wedding. It was a ceremony to appease his family, to prove to them that this wasn’t a sham. The feelings were real, even if the soulbond had come from unfortunate circumstances.

/It won’t change anything, darling. I promise you/ Loki told you, reading the emotions of your worry.

/I know. This is still a step we wouldn’t be ready for except that circumstances give us no choice/ you reminded him, expressing your feelings.

/I know, darling, and I wish that you could be spared it, but it was the only way to save you life. Now, we both must face the consequences of you being soulbound to a prince/

The music changed again. Thor removed Loki’s blindfold moments before the doors opened, just enough to allow them to pass through. Loki was extremely well behaved for once and did not look back to catch a glimpse of you. It was against the rules.

You were jealous of Loki for a moment. He had his brother to walk with him.

You would have to make the procession alone.

The music changed again and the doors swung open. You steeled yourself, and made the procession down the long aisle of the throne room, focusing on nothing but Loki as you walked, careful not to trip. You tried to ignore the crowd around you as you passed them. Loki’s expression was worth all of this. He was so overjoyed and so in awe of…you.

You were just a little mortal and he was in awe of you.

You couldn’t quite believe it.

You finally made it to your place in front of the throne, facing Loki, just like a human wedding. You tried to force that thought from your mind. This wasn’t a wedding. Odin and Frigga were standing in front of their thrones. Odin made a short speech that you didn’t catch a word of. You were too entranced with everything else that was going on. “It is on this joyous occasion that my youngest son, Prince Loki, would like to make an announcement,” you caught the last words of Odin’s speech. This was the important part.

Loki dropped to one knee and you felt your heart skip a beat. You had to remind yourself again that this wasn’t a real wedding, not a real proposal. It was a ruse, an act to appease his people. When you saw the look in his eyes when he took your left hand in both of his, you knew that was a lie. No matter what he said, this was very real to him. You should have been uncomfortable with that, but he was so insistent that your relationship wouldn’t change, that nothing back home would change, that you weren’t uncomfortable and got swept up in the moment instead.

“Blessed be the name of Odin, my father, and Frigga, his queen.” Loki started the ritual words, speaking them slowly and clearly this time. He didn’t have to rush through them to save your life. “In their names, with their power, and with joy in your heart you make this vow. With their blessing, you give this gift. I choose you, Y/N Kathryn Stark. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To guard and cherish, to bring joy to your heart. To learn with you and grow with you. Without your love, I am incomplete. I bind myself to you with these vows, willingly and wholeheartedly, free from doubt or reservation. With love, I will tell you the truth as I understand it. I will honor and respect you. I will rejoice in your joys and weep in your sorrows. I will love and cherish you without cease, without pause, without hesitation for all of our days. You are my equal, my partner, my life. So I give this gift to you and you alone. I share your life and my soul with you. All that is mine is yours, I bind myself now to you, from this moment until the end of all of our days.” He kissed the back of your left hand and the pattern of black and green lines up both of our arms started glowing in response.

There was absolutely no sound in the audience while they waited for your reply. You took a breath and spoke the words you had worked so hard to memorize.“Blessed be the name of Frigga, queen of Asgard, and of Odin her king. In their names, with their power, and with joy in my heart, I return your vow. With their blessing, I give this gift. I choose you, Prince Loki. To stand by your side and sleep in your arms. To guard and cherish, to bring joy to your heart. To learn with you and grow with you. Without your love, I am incomplete. I bind myself to you with these vows, willingly and wholeheartedly, free from doubt or reservation. With love, I will tell you the truth as I understand it, I will honor and respect you. I will rejoice in your joys and weep in your sorrows. I will love and cherish you without cease, without pause, without hesitation for all of our days. You are my equal, my partner, my life. So I give this gift to you and you alone. I share my life and my soul with you. All that is mine is yours, I bind myself now to you, from this moment until the end of all of our days.” You spoke the words as you had been practicing all week, loudly enough to be heard by all and clearly enough to be understood. You took Loki’s left hand and bowed over it, placing your lips against the back of his cool hand, over the pattern there. The lines of gold and blue magic on your arms glowed in response. The crowd cheered as Loki stood and pulled you into a hug to kiss you deeply.

Frigga stepped forward when Loki finally broke the kiss and you stood side by side in front of her. She held a beautiful silver tiara in her hands. You dipped into a curtsy in front of her when she moved to stand in front of you.“Welcome to our family, Daughter,” she announced, settling the tiara on your head. “Rise as the newest Princess of Asgard” You rose and turned with Loki to face the crowd who broke into cheers again.

You and Loki led the procession back out of the throne room and straight to the waiting feast. The feast lasted until dawn. At least you could escape the crowd then and return to the safety of your suite before the feast ended.“You are quite ravishing darling,” he whispered, holding you tightly once we were safely in your suite. You wrapped your arms around his neck, standing on your toes to better kiss him. “I have been wanting to do this all day,” he said between kisses. It was after quite a few kisses that you remembered what you had neglected to remember all day. This was the equivalent of his wedding night. You hadn’t taken that into account, somehow. Loki had kept saying that nothing would change, so you hadn’t even thought about it. You stiffened in his arms and took a step back. “What’s wrong, darling?” he asked, concerned.

You held up a finger to tell him you needed a moment. It would take you a minute to figure out how to explain your concern. He waited patiently, which was impressive given the circumstances. “This is the equivalent of your wedding night,” you started, still unsure of your words. You couldn’t ask the thing you needed to, couldn’t tell him that you was denying him the activity that generally occurred on a wedding night.

“Technically,” he answered, warily. “Kat, I thought you made it clear. Nothing is changing between us, just because we had to survive a ceremony for your family and kingdom. Nothing has to change,” You paid attention to his words since he actually used your name for once. “I would love nothing more than to marry you someday, but that day will be in the future, once we are both ready for it. I’m sorry I had to force the soulbond on you. It was the only way to save your life. I’m not sorry for saving your life, but I’m sorry to have put you in this situation. My previous statement still stands: when we go home, if you want me to leave, to stop courting you, to stand aside, I will. I will go without complaint the instant you ask. I will not force you into a relationship with me. If you want to continue our relationship, we will and we will move at the speed you are comfortable with and not one bit faster,” he told you firmly. He opened his arms to you and you wrapped your arms around his slim waist and let him hold you.

“You’re not...disappointed that we’re not...consummating... your marriage tonight?” you asked him in a small scared voice. He kissed the top of your head.

“Not at all, darling. I would consider myself extremely lucky if you allow me to spend our resting hours with your heartbeat next to mine. I would be perfectly content sleeping on the couch if that is what it took to make you feel safe and comfortable,”

You looked up at him and smiled, reassured by his honeyed words. “How did I ever deserve you?” you asked him softly.

He kissed you lightly.“I ask how I ever deserve you every day,” he replied. “Now let’s get out of these uncomfortable pretty clothes and get some rest. We only have one more day of visiting before we have to go home,” he reminded you. You turned your back to him and moved your hair away from the back of your neck.

“Can you get the tie for me?” you asked him. You couldn’t quite reach it. You knew that since Sif had to tie it for you earlier.

“Of course,” he replied. You felt his cool fingers against your neck as he undid the tie for you.

“Thank you.” You blushed and ducked into the bedroom to find some pajamas, cursing yourself for not just using magic to change clothes. You kept forgetting you had powers sometimes.

You found your pajamas and curled in the middle of Loki’s giant bed. He joined you a minute later and you finally got to get some sleep, even with the sun shining into the bedroom.

You only slept a few hours as you had a lot of visiting with Loki’s family to do today. You were leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Saying goodbye to everyone was going to be hard, you absolutely loved it on Asgard. You spent the afternoon with Sif and Thor and the evening after dinner with them and Loki’s parents. It was bittersweet when you said goodnight that evening. The goodbyes the next morning were even more difficult, even with Frigga’s reassurances that you could come visit anytime. You and Loki created the portal together that morning and gave everyone one final hug before you walked through it back home.


	44. Chapter 44

You reappeared in the common room of the tower and were greeted with cheers and hugs when you stepped out of the portal. “Kat, what are you wearing?” Wanda asked once you had disentangled yourselves from your family of supers. You looked down and realized you were still wearing an Asgardian dress. You grinned when you looked back up at her.

“I am wearing a dress,” you replied with a touch of sarcasm. Even Nat laughed at that.

“And the tiara?” she asked with a smirk. You blushed; you’d forgotten about the tiara. And you hadn’t told anyone but Tony and Fury that Loki’s family now thought you were married.It was all very complicated.

“Tradition on Asgard,” Loki answered quickly.It wasn’t even a lie. “Did anything important happen while we were gone?” He asked the team in general, changing the subject to something safer.

“The Harlequin has been causing problems again. There’s also been some supposed sightings of Balder, but no one’s been able to confirm it,” Nat reported.As one of the original Avengers, it was one of her jobs to give such updates.“But there’s nothing urgent for you two today,”

You nodded at that, relieved that you got a reprieve. “Thanks Aunt Nat. Come on, Loki, there’s something we need to do,” you grabbed Loki’s hand and started dragging him with you. You had put this off too long and that needed to be rectified now.

“Darling, where are you dragging me?” Loki asked, laughing.He didn’t fight you, but did wonder what you were up to.

“You’ll see,” was the only reply he got. He sighed, but dug in his heels at the door to leave the tower. You stopped and turned to look at him. “What?” you asked, confused as to why he was stopping now.

“Maybe we should be wearing Midgardian clothes?” he asked, calmly and reasonably. You sighed, but used your power to change your dress to a blue sundress and sandals. Loki just gave you an expectant look. You rolled your eyes, since he was perfectly capable of changing his own clothes by magic, but he just continued to look at you expectantly. You closed your eyes and focused. It was harder to change his clothes than your own, but after a moment, he was dressed in a suit, just not the all black one he usually chose for himself. “A suit?” he asked, confused by your choice.

“You want to make a good first impression,” you told him. He nodded, but you saw the confused expression on his face. You led him to your car and summoned your purse and keys. The first place you drove to was the liquor store first, parking far enough from the entrance that they wouldn’t be able to see you from inside the store. “Your ID says you’re at least 21, right?” you asked him when you pulled into the spot.

Loki nodded warily “Of course.” He didn’t trust where your mind was going.

“Good,” you pulled out some money from your purse and handed it to him. “Go in there and pick something out. Something a man would like,”

“Darling...”

“Please, Loki. It’s important,”

“And you cannot come?” he asked, confused. He knew there was something about Midgardian customs he was missing and wanted to understand before he did this favor.

You shook your head. “I don’t have a fake ID and you have to be 21 to buy alcohol,” you reminded him. You hadn’t bothered getting a fake when you were so well-known.It would’ve been stupid.“They won’t sell it to you if they think you’re buying it for a minor, for someone under 21,” you clarified that last point.

“ _Am_ I buying it for a minor?” he asked with a look of disapproval.

“Of course not!” you spluttered, indignantly, like you’d ever ask for something like that. Besides, you could always steal booze from Tony if you really wanted some.“It’s a gift,”

He nodded and kissed your cheek.That, he could understand.“Very well, darling,” he finally answered and went to go complete his task. It took him awhile, but you didn’t mind.You were just glad he was taking the assignment seriously. He came back with something fancy looking and sounding. You knew nothing about alcohol, but he insisted that the clerk had recommended it for a gift.

“Good! One more stop,” you told him. Your next stop was a florist. They knew you there, of course.It was the florist you always went to. 

“Kat, we weren’t expecting you. I don’t have your usual order ready,” the nice lady who owned the shop greeted you. 

“Don’t worry, Mary, I didn’t place an order today. Do you have any roses, today? You know they’re her favorite,” Mary gave you a warm, matronly smile.

“Of course, dear. I even have a couple of the purple ones she’s particularly fond of,”

“Will you make something pretty for her?” you asked, trying to smile, though it was hard. It always brought tears to your eyes, even though you knew you shouldn’t cry.

She nodded, understanding in her eyes and voice.“Of course, dear. It’ll be ready soon,” she got to work on the request right in front of you. “You’re taking your young man to meet them?” she asked while she worked. Loki wasn’t often called a young man, but you weren’t going to quibble over it.

You nodded. “It was time he was introduced to them,” you replied.

She gave you a knowing smile. “It must be getting serious, then,” you blushed. You weren’t going to answer that. You pulled your phone out. “Sorry for being rude and being on your phone, Mary, there’s one more thing I need,” you texted Tony asking for his help.

-I’ll meet you there- came the reply in an instant.Uncle Tony would always drop anything to help you.

“Darling, will you be telling me who I am to meet?” Loki asked overly patiently. You gave him a look and he sighed. “Of course you will not,”

It wasn’t long before Mary gave us the rose bouquet.

You drove to the cemetery after that. You had never made this drive by yourself. Tony always drove you, but you didn’t lose your resolve or your way. Loki was subdued as you parked in front of your parents’ graves. He had realized when you pulled into the cemetery who you were going to see. Tony wasn’t there yet, but that was fine. He was giving you time to do this your way. You took a deep breath. “Ready?” you asked Loki. He gave you his usual smile.

“Of course, my dear. Don’t fear, they will love me,” he told you warmly.You got out of the car and you took his hand to lead him up to meet your parents.

“Mom, Dad,” you took a breath, this was hard. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

You pulled Loki up the last couple of steps to their graves.

“This is Prince Loki of Asgard, my boyfriend,” you announced.You always spoke as if they were there and could hear you.It was weird, but thankfully, Loki went along with your eccentricities. 

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you,” Loki added with a bow. He produced the bouquet of roses, which were now in an elegant vase. “Kat mentioned that these are your favorites, Mrs. Stark,” he said as he knelt down to place the flowers in front of her grave. He didn’t think, or at least didn’t say, it was weird that you was talking to your parents like they were still alive. He even played along. “It is not playing along, darling,” Loki told you, gleaning your thoughts. “The spirits of the dead can and do watch over us,” he thought for a moment and summoned a spellbook. “I cannot do this spell often, but for today...” he recited the spell and your parents appeared, standing between their graves.

You just stood there shocked and starting.

“An illusion?” you asked. He shook his head and that was all you needed.You ran for them. Ran wasn’t a strong enough word, but it was the only one you had. You wrapped your arms around both of them, holding them too tightly. You’d never gotten to say goodbye and now they were here and they were real.So very real. “Mom? Dad?” you asked, sobbing as you held them tightly so they couldn’t vanish from you again.

“We’re here. We’re always with you, dear,” mom told you. “Though your father does admittedly spend most of his time looking after that uncle of yours.The trouble he gets into playing a superhero…”

“How?” was the only word you could get out, refusing to let them go. You hadn’t seen them in years. They were dead. They shouldn’t be there.

“It is just for the afternoon,” Loki repeated firmly.He wasn’t giving any illusions that the spell was stronger than it was.“Their spirits remained to watch over you and your uncle when you need them. I simply allowed them to visible and tangible for the afternoon,”

“Then we will have to just make the most of the afternoon,” you replied as Tony pulled up in his car. You somehow disentangled myself from mom’s hug and ran down to help him. You came back up with the blanket and picnic Tony had brought. You set up the blanket quickly while Tony just stared at your parents in disbelief. Soon he had wrapped his arms around his dead brother, much as you had.

You sat and chatted all afternoon. Loki, Tony, and dad shared the bottle of alcohol that Loki had brought as a gift for dad. It was a bittersweet afternoon, but Tony and you got to catch them up on everything. Loki and you got to tell them all about Asgard and your visit there. Tony told them all about his work with the Avengers. They seemed so happy that you and Tony were both doing ok.

It was almost dark when Loki spoke up. “Darling, I cannot hold the spell much longer,” you looked over at him and realized that he was hiding how low on magic he was. He was nearly tapped, which was dangerous. “My love, I’m sorry, but it is time to say your goodbyes,”

You all stood then for hugs, tears, and goodbyes. “Thank you, Loki,” mom said, giving him a hug too, which threw him as he wasn’t expecting it. “You are wonderful for our daughter,” she told him. You saw the tears in his eyes at that. He wasn’t expecting to actually be accepted. Midgardians didn’t much accept him, even now.

“I’ll allow it,” dad added gruffly. That was the best Loki was going to get from him. You hugged each of them one more time, tears streaming down your face.

“I’m going to miss you,” you told them.

“We’re always with you. You can come visit and talk to us anytime. We’re always here to listen. I love you, Kat, Tony. Take care of each other.” mom told you before the magic faded and she started to vanish.

“Yes, mom,” you replied with the same obedient tone you had given her all of your life.

“I love you, kitten,” your dad told you.He turned to his brother.“Tony, you know you didn’t tell you enough that I love you, and dad was an ass to both of us, but I’m glad things are turning out so well for you,” dad told him, which was more acknowledgement from Tony’s family than he ever got, besides you of course.

The magic faded completely and they both vanished. You fell to your knees sobbing, staring at the spot where they had been. Tony knelt beside you and wrapped his arms around you . “It’s ok, Kat. They’re proud of us and they’re glad we’re ok, remember?” he asked. “They want us to be happy,” you nodded and rubbed the tears roughly from your face.

“You’re right,” you told Tony and we got back to our feet. you turned to Loki to thank him, but all you saw was that he was too pale. You ran to his side and managed to get your arms around him before he passed out. It was a close thing. “Dummy,” you told him softly, exasperated. He had pushed himself to the breaking point keeping the spell going as long as he physically could.

“What happened?” Tony asked. He came over to us and took Loki from you, hoisting him over his shoulder. It was surprisingly little effort for Tony, but he was surprisingly muscled from his work.

“He used too much magic to make that spell for us,” you told him.

Tony nodded, accepting that answer. “He was like this the night he saved your life too,” he explained. “He’s good for you, even if I’m still against you dating at all.” Tony grinned at you and carried Loki down to his own car. “I won’t kill him on the drive home, imp,” he told you warmly. “He did us both a huge favor today. I’m not going to forget the kindness, even if he _is_ dating you. Besides, if I kill him you die too,”

You finally relented and let Tony carry Loki. It was easier and better than you struggling to do it. You used magic to clean up our picnic, though you left mom’s flowers and set out a glass of the alcohol for dad. “Goodbye, mommy, daddy. It was good to be able to see you again,”

With that, you headed back to your car. Tony wouldn’t leave until you were safely driving away, even though you were more powerful than he was now. Tony carried Loki back up to Loki’s suite and set him on his bed when you returned. Loki was still unconscious. “Thanks, Uncle Tony,” you told him, grateful for his help.

He nodded his acceptance, then changed the subject.“We get back to training tomorrow,” he reminded you.

You nodded with a sigh, not looking forward to that. “I’ll be there.” With that, Tony left you alone. You used magic to change your clothes and Loki’s to pajamas and tucked Loki into his bed.

“Thank you, love,” you whispered and kissed his forehead. You sat on the bed next to him and summoned the tales of Hiccup the Viking. You hadn’t had a chance to finish them while you were visiting his family.

Loki finally stirred a few hours later. “Hello sleepyhead,” you told him with a smile. He looked around confused.

“What happened?”

“You used too much magic with the spell to bring back my parents for the day. You’ve been unconscious for about four hours now,” you told him. He at least had the decency to look sheepish. You pulled up your phone and showed him the picture you had taken of Tony carrying him up to his room. “Uncle Tony carried you to bed. I think he might almost like you. He actually might like you if you weren’t dating me,” you added with a smile.

“Oh dear. How many people have that photograph?” He asked.

You shrugged. “I haven’t sent it to anyone,” that didn’t mean Tony hadn’t.

Loki sighed. “He better not start acting like Thor. My magic works just fine against your uncle,” he grumbled.

You just laughed, imagining Tony acting like Thor.It would never happen.

“Thank you for everything today.” Those words weren’t enough for what he had done for you, no matter how much sincerity you put in the words. You leaned down and kissed him.

“I am glad you thought enough of me to introduce me to your parents,” he answered. He got out of the bed and pulled you up with him. “We should find some dinner,”

“We should. I’m sure Helene has made something delicious,” you replied and you headed downstairs with laughter. You spent your evening as usual, watching movies on the couch with your books. A nice quiet evening was what you both needed after the emotional day.

“Kat, what’s with the matching tattoos?” one of the super teens asked. Some of your friends had come to watch at your TV, since you were finally getting back to watching the DVD of the new Avengers movie that Tom had sent you. You had been interrupted the last time you tried to watch it.

You blushed. “It was a side effect of the magic Loki used to save my life,” you explained. You didn’t want to tell them about the soulbond if you didn’t have to. They wouldn’t understand. They accepted your answer though. It was so different here, hiding the soulbond after you spent the last week being praised and congratulated for it.

“It’s ok, darling. You’re right that they wouldn’t understand,” Loki whispered in your ear. “We know what it is and that is all that matters.” You nodded and cuddled back up against him. You blushed and hid your face in his chest when you got to the kiss scene while Loki just laughed. The teens looked at him confused, so he paused the movie and pulled you to your feet, changing your clothes in that instant to the ones you had been wearing the day you were filmed. He kissed you, in the exact same pose as you were in in the scene.

“That’s you two?!” exclaimed the crowd. You turned even more shades of red and nodded. You pointed out the scar on your leg that could be seen in the film.

“Go Sigyn!” they called, cheering. You blushed and apparently acquired your superhero alias, since they wouldn’t stop calling you that for the rest of the night.


	45. Chapter 45

You spent the next month or so training nearly nonstop. Since Frigga had healed your mind, you could use your own powers without pain. You learned fast, too fast, since you had gotten all of the knowledge through the soulbond that you needed. It was just a matter of practice. After the month of intense training on your powers, Loki’s magic, and tactics, you and Loki were assigned to go out on patrol.

You spent the rest of the summer patrolling nearly every night. Somehow, though you thought it had something to do with Loki’s silver tongue, you were assigned as patrol partners. There were a few skirmishes, but after a couple blasts of magic, or fireThors, the clowns would just run away. It was strange, like they wanted to see what you’d do and then go report on it.

Though it was nice walking around the city with your boyfriend most nights, relatively unbothered.

When the public saw you on patrol, they started cheering, which didn’t help anything except publicity. Loki encouraged this behavior by wearing the golden horned helmet from the movies if you were going to be patrolling where you might be seen. You joined in his fun, wearing an illusion of Sigyn’s costume from the movies. It was fun, things were fairly quiet, and you didn’t shirk your duty while you were doing it. It was a stupid amount of fun to stop robbers and pickpockets in full costume. Loki always made you call your captures in. He hated talking to the mortals and the cops answered a lot faster when you called than when he did. Even when you gave them your alias of Sigyn, they knew who you were and came running to help Iron Man’s little sister.

When you were assigned patrol, you had been given a work only cell phone. You were the strongest healer in the city, if not the world, since you not only had your own healing powers, but also Loki’s healing magic, so you were always on call for emergency healings.

Those calls didn’t always go well, but they were getting better. The first time you’d been called, you teleported down to the infirmary only to find that your clothes had not teleported with you. Loki had teleported in front of you and acted as a Loki-shaped shield while you summoned yourself some new clothes. You were beet red the entire time you completed that healing, but got it done. Loki wouldn’t stop laughing at you for the entire night, until you hit him with a pillow to shut him up.

They had also had to make a ‘safe teleporting spot’ for you after you had landed on people too many times when you teleported into the infirmary. One time you teleported onto Tony, who just laughed and caught you, holding you bridal style. Healer Julia wasn’t pleased when she got landed on, though, and created a box on the floor with bright blue painting tape. “When we call you, teleport there. I’ll make sure it’s clear of obstacles,” she ordered. About a week later the inside of the box contained the image of a girl with cat ears labelled ‘Sigyn’. You sighed. You loved your super family, but they could be obnoxious sometimes.

Toward the end of summer, you were cuddled up with Loki in your bed after patrol. Loki tensed beside you, his hands going to his temples.“What is it?” you asked Loki, who looked like he had gotten a sudden migraine.

“My brother. Mother must have helped him with the spell,” Loki groaned, holding his head. “He needs to not talk so loudly if he wants to use it though. Stupid brother. He would like to come visit Midgard.” Loki told you through gritted teeth.

You smiled up at him. “That’ll be fun!” you told him excitedly.

Loki rolled his eyes. “You are supposed to be on my side, darling,” he reminded you, sounding exasperated and in pain.

“I am,” you replied with a grin. You touched Loki’s arm and tapped politely on his mind with your. It was rude to enter without permission, except in extenuating circumstances.He let you in, seeming pleased that you were there to help.

/Hi Thor!/ you added to the conversation. /We would love for you to come visit/

/Little Sister! I am glad you are more reasonable than my brother. We will have such fun. Heimdall will send us tomorrow/

“How was that on my side?” Loki grumbled at you when the connection had closed.

“Because you want to see your family even if you don’t want to admit it,” you reminded him. You knew Loki quite well by now and knew that’s what he wanted, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

He sighed and kissed your forehead. “You know me too well, my dear,” he finally replied.

You grinned up at him and rolled over to get your phone so you could tell Fury that you needed time off for Thor’s visit. “He can stay in your suite for the visit,” you told Loki once you got off the phone. “You can stay here with me while he’s here,”

“Hmm,” Loki purred, considering that and liking the idea of getting to stay with you for however long Thor was visiting. “Maybe I’ll have to convince him to extend his stay,” you laughed at him and cuddled back up against his cool body to go back to sleep. 

The next morning, you and Loki headed down to the common room early. He had explained that he had to mark the spot for the portal for Frigga and wanted it in a neutral location.They had decided that was a better idea than Heimdall opening the Bifrost and making a spectacle. So you made breakfast while Loki worked on marking the portal spot. You had a pile of pancakes made by the time he was finished. “Any idea when Thor’s getting here?” you asked when he was done.

He shook his head. “No word, yet. We will just have to keep an eye on the portal location,” he replied. You ate your breakfast in peace until Tony decided to join us. Instead of removing Loki from the table, he just pulled up a chair and started eating your pancakes.

“Uncle Tony! Go get your own pancakes,” you yelled at him, threatening to stab him with your fork. He laughed at you and stole a couple of pancakes from the stack in the middle of the table.

“Fury said you two are taking a couple days off?” he asked, curious and concerned.It wasn’t like you to request time off. 

“Yeah, Thor’s coming to visit,” you explained, since Loki’s mouth was currently full of pancakes. Tony grinned at Loki.

“You know what?I like him better when he’s quiet. Less mischief that way,” Tony grinned at Loki, who just held up his middle finger at your uncle in reply and proceeded to shove more pancakes in his mouth. Your pancakes were one of Loki’s favorite Midgardians foods. You laughed at their antics. Silly boys.

You heard a crackling noise coming from the common room and jumped to your feet to go to the portal. Thor stepped out of it a moment later. “Hey Thor,” you greeted him when he had stepped through. He grinned when he saw you and swept you up into a bone crushing hug.

“Little Sister!” he boomed and you couldn’t help laughing at his enthusiasm.Thor never changed.

“It’s good to see you too, Thor.”

“Where’s Loki?” he asked as he set you down.

“He’s eating breakfast. There’s still plenty if you haven’t eaten,” you told him. You took his hand and led him away from the gawking supers, including some of the girls who were drooling over his muscles. You stopped in the hall and lifted Thor’s left hand so you could get a look. You summoned a gold ring and slipped it on his left hand when you realized he had no wedding ring.

“What is this?” he asked, confused, but not concerned with your antics.

“It’s the Midgardian symbol that you’re married, that you’re soulbound,” you replied, quickly adding the soulbond explanation so he’d understand. “I would hate for Sif to get mad for not making sure you were protected from admiring ladies while you’re here,” you led him the rest of the way to the dining room.

“Loki!” he exclaimed and lifted Loki bodily from his chair to hug him while Loki spluttered and stabbed Thor.Tony stood, watching the brothers in amusement.You rolled your eyes and healed the dagger wound.

“Did you eat, Thor?” you asked, offering him a plate. He took the plate and began serving himself pancakes. Loki growled at him to get his hands off of his pancakes, but Thor just smiled at his brother instead of getting upset.

“If you like them this much, they must be excellent indeed.” He devoured his pancakes with relish. “These are quite delicious,”

“Thank you,” you replied with a grin. He looked shocked when he realized you had made the pancakes. “Would you like to see where you’re staying, or head out on our adventure first?” you asked Thor after all of the pancakes were gone.

“I have to get to work, imp. Be safe on whatever you’re planning today,” Tony told you and gave you a hug.

“Uncle Tony, please remember that I’m the most powerful super at this table,” you grumbled at him.

He just laughed. “Sure you are, imp,” he replied and waved to the boys before he left for work.

“What adventure have you planned, darling?” Loki asked. He knew of no such plans.

You looked down at your pajamas. “Well, we should probably get dressed first, but I was going to show Thor around the city,”

Loki nodded, but added after a hesitation. “We should also visit your parents, if only briefly. It is only polite where we come from, and we would hate for Thor to feel inadvertently rude.”

“We can visit them first,” you agreed easily. “Well first after Midgardian clothes. You’ll take care of Thor?” you asked. Loki nodded and stood. You stood too and vanished the dishes with magic. With another quick use of magic, you were dressed in capris, sandals, and an elegant looking halter top. You left your hair loose as there was no use trying to hide it regardless. Too many people would recognize you. Loki wore jeans and a green shirt while he dressed Thor in jeans and a red shirt. You tossed Loki your keys. “I figured you wanted to show off your driving ability,” you told him with a smile.

“My lady does know youtoo well,” he laughed.

He drove you to the cemetery first.

“What is this place?” Thor asked. He knew your parents were dead, but he didn’t know where they were buried.

You hesitated, so Loki stepped in. “This is where the dead are laid to rest,” he answered. “We are here so you may pay your respects to my lady’s parents.” He slipped back into his native Asgardian when he was speaking with Thor, even here on Midgard. Thor nodded soberly. You gave Loki the directions through the cemetery to find the right spot. He’d only been here once before. You led them up to your parents’ graves after Loki parked.

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad. you know it’s strange that I’m visiting again so soon, but don’t worry, everything’s ok. Loki’s brother Thor came to town to visit us. He wanted to come say hello to you too,” you told them. You didn’t want them to worry over you. Thor dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“I have come to pay my respects,” you heard his first line clearly, but his voice softened as he spoke the rest of his prayer, so you couldn’t catch the words.“May you rest peacefully for the rest of your days,” he finally finished and stood.

“Thanks, Thor. I’m sure they appreciate it,” you told him. He wrapped you in a hug.

“Loki was correct. It would have been rude not to pay my respects. Now, you said you have an adventure planned for us?” Thor asked, his arms still around your shoulders.

You looked back and waved to your parents. “Bye guys, I’ll come visit again soon!” you called, grinning. For a moment, you thought that you could see a glimmer of your mom smiling and waving at you. With Thor on one side of you and Loki on the other, you returned to your car. You got your keys back from Loki. “You don’t know where we’re going,” you reminded him. “This’ll be an adventure for you too,”

You took the boys to the amusement park. It was hilarious riding roller coasters with them and watching them compete with each other on the stupid arcade games. They each won you a stuffed animal and you got a ton of photos of the three of you. You even printed some out so Thor could take them home.

You got an emergency text from the healers right when you were finishing dinner. “Loki, I have to go. Will you two be ok?” you asked.

“Go, darling. I will be home shortly.” You nodded and kissed him before you teleported back to the compound, appearing in your safe box in the infirmary.

“Kat, it’s Tony,” Julia told you the second you appeared. You ran for him, despite that one should not run in the infirmary. You were the exception; if you were running, people jumped out of your way, knowing how much of an emergency it was.

Tony was laying in one of the beds, bleeding, speared through with a huge piece of shrapnel. “Tony!” you yelled and rushed to his side. Both of your hands were already glowing by the time you reached him. “Get that out of him!” you snapped at one of the healers nearby. They ripped the metal piece from Tony’s chest and your work began. It was a grueling healing, even for you. You were lucky the metal piece hadn’t pierced his arc reactor.You drowned Tony in your healing magic, knowing that he shouldn’t have. Had it been any other healer in charge besides you, he wouldn’t have. He had been ripped open by whatever had done this, cut open like a fillet. You had to rebuild nearly his entire chest.Had you had time, you’d have removed the shrapnel from the attack in Afghanistan, but you didn’t have the time or energy to do that and save his life.

Loki arrived just in time to catch you when you collapsed and Tony opened his eyes. “Don’t you _ever_ scare me like that again,” you snarled at him while your eyes were fluttering shut. You had drained every last drop of power you had. Loki swept you up in his arms, then passed you to Thor, trusting his brother with your safety.

“Thor, keep her safe while I verify she finished,” Thor nodded and took a few steps back, cradling you against his warm safe chest. Loki went to Tony to double check your work.

“Uncle Tony, what happened?” you murmured from Thor’s arms, fighting for consciousness.

“It was Balder. Nat and I were on patrol tonight and we came across Balder.”

That shook you from your post-healing stupor.

“Where’s Nat?” you demanded, already back in healer mode.

“She’s fine. One of the kids caught up to us and teleported her out of there. Balder just let them go. He only wanted to fight me, for some reason. I don’t know what he’s up to, but it can’t be good. I’m fine now, imp. Go rest,” he ordered from his hospital bed.

Loki took his side. “You did well, darling. He is completely healed. Or will be after a little rest himself,” Loki collected you from Thor’s arms and the three of you went to the commonroom. you dozed in Loki’s arms while the boys watched the first Avengers movie. Thor had never seen a movie before, so he wasn’t bored while you got some rest.

“We’ll take you to see a movie on the big screen tomorrow, Thor,” you promised sleepily. Thor was so excited by the movie that it would be a real treat for him to see one in the theater.

“You are supposed to be resting, love,” Loki scolded gently.

“I am resting. Eyes are closed and everything,” you replied, snuggling more comfortably against him.

Loki sighed. “Whatever am I going to do with you, my stubborn little darling?” he asked softly.

“Bind your soul to mine for all of our days?” you asked with a grin. He laughed and kissed your forehead.

It took a couple hours of rest before you got enough magic back to function. You had dinner and then treated Thor to a group showing of Superhero Musical. He was so pleased with it and the group singing that he begged to watch it again. He was so kind that the group relented and turned to movie back on for him and you all sang along to all of the songs again.

You walked upstairs with Thor and showed him to Loki’s suite. “Loki, this is fantastic. It looks just like your rooms back home!”

“Kat made it for me for my birthday,” Loki told him proudly. “She thought I was homesick and that it would make me feel better,”

“Very well done, Sister,” Thor exclaimed.

You gave him a warm smile.“My suite is just across the hall if you need us,” you told him.

“You have separate suites?” Thor asked, confused.

You nodded with a blush. “Midgardian traditions are a little different,” you reminded him. He accepted that answer, for which you were grateful. You didn’t want to tell him that Loki didn’t officially live with you.Or was taking things slow with you, especially as you’d been raped.

The next day, you took Thor and Loki out to the movie theater. Thor was like a little kid the entire time as he watched the big screen. It was beyond adorable.

You took him to a restaurant, not one of the extra fancy ones Loki preferred, but one where you could wear jeans and be comfortable. You did have to apologize to the boys when you kept getting asked for autographs. It was becoming a bigger issue now that you were a super in your own right.Though they got asked for their fair share too.

That night you watched one of the Avengers movies with the group and Thor laughed the loudest when they made Loki get up and perform some of the Loki lines. Especially when the group roared at him for not doing it right the first time. “Sig~ make him do it properly!” they whined at you. Not only had they refused to stop calling you Sigyn, they had also decided on a nickname. They had _also_ realized that could convince Loki to do things, especially if they were fun or mischievous.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, but pulled Loki to his feet. “Loki, darling, your fans await,” you told him and pushed him toward the table. He looked extremely put-upon, but stepped up on the table, changing his outfit at the same time. You sat back on our couch to enjoy the performance as he performed the lines perfectly for the crowd of your friends.

“I have never seen him like this,” Thor told you softly while Loki was showing off.

You smiled over at him. “Is that a bad thing?” you asked, though you knew it wasn’t.Loki was happy here; happy with you.

“Not at all. You are wonderful for him, Sister dear. He would never act like this back home. He is having such fun and he is so happy here with you. I am not sure I have ever seen him as happy, except during the soulbond ceremony, of course,”

“Of course,” you replied with a grin.

“Are you satisfied, my Sigyn?” Loki asked when his performance was over, stepping down from his table.

“I am. Are your fans?” you asked him. They roared their approval and Loki took his spot back on the couch.

“Why do they call you Sigyn?” Thor asked you, curiously.

You sighed. “In the movies, Sigyn is the name of Loki’s wife. We met the actors who play Loki and Sigyn when they came here to make one of the movies, they convinced us to shoot a take of a kiss scene during one of the movies, and the studio used our version in the movie. Some of our friends found out and the name has stuck ever since,” you explained. Thor laughed and Loki glared over at Thor.

“He’s not laughing at you,” you reassured Loki quickly. “He’s laughing at me.”

“Darling, that is not any better,” Loki growled.

You laughed at your overprotective Loki. “I told him the story of why our friends keep calling meSigyn,” you explained.

He relaxed at that, accepting your answer. “That _is_ an amusing story,” he finally admitted.

You spent the rest of the evening with Thor and your friends before you all crashed to get some sleep. The next morning, Loki created the portal to send Thor back home. His visit was fun, but he had duties back home and you and Loki had work to do on Midgard.


	46. Chapter 46

Fury told you to keep an eye out for Balder before you went back on patrol. If he’d been spotted once, he would be out causing more trouble. He had already tried to take over the world once.No one knew what he was up to, but everyone was on edge from seeing him again. Especially when The Harlequin and some of the other big super villains were acting up as well.

Nothing happened that night, or for many to come. You spent a lot of long nights at the end of summer catching bad guys, but saw no sign of Balder.

“When does your summer vacation end?” Loki asked you one evening while you were patrolling the streets in the warehouse district.

“September 1st,” you replied. It was going to suck balancing being a superhero and going to high school.Especially with how many AP classes you were taking. Fury had already been working to get you permission to leave class for emergency healings. You had the feeling that wasn’t going over well.

“That is not very far away,” he commented.He sounded sad that he’d be losing having you almost all day every day.

“I know, and I’m not sure the school will let you be my guard this year,” you reminded him sadly.You’d enjoyed having him as a guard. “They’re bound to know I’m a super now and can protect myself...” that was going to make a lonely year if they didn’t allow you to have your Loki. You hadn’t realized how lonely your life had been until Loki had come into it.On top of that, by turning the idiot jock into a vegetable and your new distrust for all of your classmates, you were bound to be a social pariah, despite being Tony Stark’s niece and famous.

That night’s patrol was quiet, but you still had to finish your circuit before you could go back to the tower for movies and ice cream. You were halfway wishing for a healing call so you could leave the area early. It was that boring and slow.On top of that, you _hated_ patrolling the warehouse district. It was creepy. You shouldn’t be concerned about things that seemed creepy with how much power you had, but at the end of the day, you were still just a teenage girl. You wouldn’t _actually_ hope for a healing call, since that would mean one of your friends was hurt badly enough that you needed to be called in, but still...

You _really_ hated being both bored and creeped out.

About halfway down a block, you and Loki both stopped short, seeing the two clowns at the end of the street. You slipped into the shadows quickly and smoothly to watch them. It only took you a moment to realize that they hadn’t see you.They were obviously on some kind of mission heading somewhere important.

So you and Loki both had the same terrible idea at the same moment. /We should follow them/ you both thought to the other at the same time. With a silent grin, you both moved at the same time to follow the clowns, hoping they would lead you back to their hideout. You cast illusions around yourselves, making you nearly invisible.

You followed them through the streets of the warehouse district and into one of the abandoned warehouses. It seemed like just a normal abandoned warehouse, but they went straight to the back of it and you followed them down a flight of stairs, hoping you were getting close to their hideout so you could call it in.

You ended in a huge open room at the bottom of the stairs. You took a few steps in when the lights burst on, blinding you. You heard a crackle of electricity from your pocket and a whoosh and thunk next to you. You looked over to see what it was.Not much could make such a whoosh-thunk noise.

It was Loki.

Loki.

Loki had been the recipient of that whoosh-thunk sound.

He had a spear piercing all the way through his chest. “No!” you screamed as he collapsed. With a practiced flick of your hands you threw up a barrier of flames around you, shielding you from further attacks. “Hold on, Loki,” you begged as you reached for your phone only to find it dead.

Not dead from lack of batteries, not dead from no service, but dead like someone had fried the poor thing. You couldn’t call for help, couldn’t call for backup. You were cut off.

You grabbed Loki’s arm and tried to teleport the pair of you out of there, but your power just fizzled away. Teleporting wasn’t happening.You were trapped in this room.There was no choice. “I’m sorry, love,” you told him and ripped the spear roughly from his chest and had to listen to his howl of pain. You didn’t have time to be gentle. You couldn’t save him if you had to be gentle. 

You held your glowing hands to the wound, healing him in the middle of danger, because you would both die if you didn’t take the time and power to heal him. You just hoped that you could get him up and battle ready fast. This was as big of a healing as the one you had done on Tony.It was nearly an identical wound. You would be tapped and next to useless when it was done. It was in that moment, in the moment when you realized that the wound was identical, that you knew for certain that this was a trap.

You couldn’t focus on that. You had to save Loki. It was your only chance to get out of this alive. So you threw your magic into healing him, hoping you would get out of this hell.If he didn’t make it now, neither of you would.

You heard the clowns standing around your shields of flames, but they didn’t try to breach them. It was the only good part of this so far. You were safe behind the fire.

Loki was healing, though slowly. It took so much longer than you would have liked, but you got the wound healed. Loki opened his eyes while you fought to hold onto consciousness, usefulness, and magic. You couldn’t succumb yet, no matter how much power you had just dumped into Loki.There was still a battle to face.

Loki managed to haul you to your feet as your fire shield failed. You saw him reach out a hand, trying to summon a shield of his own, but he was so newly healed that he couldn’t manage it. You tried to summon the power back, but couldn’t, not in time. You had put too much into the healing.

You grabbed for your daggers as hands grabbed you, yanking you from Loki’s side. You shrieked and again tried to reach for your daggers, for your fire, telekinesis, anything, but this was a well-planned trap. They had planned to make you weak and helpless when they got to their plan. You struggled against the hands who held you, but it was no use. Some kind of thick material was forced over your hands, keeping you from moving them. If you couldn’t use your hands, you couldn’t use your powers. They cuffed your hands together in front of you.

It was then that they started attacking you, kicking and punching and laughing the entire time. You fought off their attacks as best you could, but you were a bleeding bruised mess in moments. It was so hard to fight when your brain was foggy, your magic drained, your powers inaccessible, your hands bound.

A figure materialized in front of you as the clowns stepped away. “Enough, now,” the voice said kindly in a familiar accent. you looked up at the figure through hazy eyes. It was Balder, Loki’s brother, who looked nearly identical to Thor, but much harsher, more stern and battle worn. You reached up automatically, trapped in battle haze, trying to defend yourself. He grabbed your shackled wrists. “I said that’s enough now.” He wrapped his arms around you in an embrace that might have been comforting in other circumstances. You screamed and thrashed against him, fighting with your every last ounce of strength, until you sagged helpless in his embrace. He shoved a strip of cloth in your mouth, effectively gagging you. “There we go, easy now, you have been hurt enough for one day,” he told you gently. You knew you had only been hurt because of him. His kind words and tone didn’t fool you. “Shh, you’ve done enough. You have fought bravely, but there is no shame in living to fight another day. You are on our side now after all, my dear.” He swept you up into his strong arms and settled you gently on a sturdy, straight backed chair. He had the clowns wrap chains around you holding youthere securely, while promising it was just so you wouldn’t inadvertently hurt yourself. You just panted, exhausted, sagged against your bonds, trying to force your brain to come up with some sort of plan to get us out of this.

Balder moved to the middle of the room then, turning to Loki. “Very well done, Brother, though it took you long enough. I knew you would complete your assignment and bring her to our side. The strongest super in the city,” he purred the words and glanced at you.You couldn’t see Loki’s face from where you were bound. He was standing, though surrounded by clowns with weapons pointed at him, just in case he decided to do something stupid, or express a change of heart.“It was very clever indeed for you to tell me how her powers work and exactly how much healing she would have to do to incapacitate her. Very well done indeed, Brother,” Balder’s tone was jovial, congratulating.

It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

Loki couldn’t be Balder’s spy.

 


	47. Chapter 47

Why wasn’t Loki saying anything? Why wasn’t he denying Balder’s accusations? Even it if _was_ true, he wouldn’t want you to believe it. You couldn’t believe it was true.Loki could be mischievous and a bit chaotic, but it was all in fun. He wasn’t evil. You couldn’t believe Balder was right, though. You knew Loki too well, you’d seen his nightmares, felt his soul, saw his joy during the soulbond ceremony. He was so happy with you, with your relationship. You couldn’t imagine him betraying you. Even Thor had said he had never seen Loki so happy.

Loki turned and Balder took a step to stay in front of Loki as he continued praising Loki’s skills. You watched Loki’s stiff movements, heard the faint clatter of chains. He had shackles around his neck, wrists, and ankles, all chained together. Even from where you were bound, you could see the runes in the shackles, binding his magic. Worse, was the metal muzzle-like gag. No wonder he wasn’t making any denials. “I am sorry about the bonds, dear little brother, but I can’t have that silver tongue of yours telling our new ally any more lies,”

You saw the pleading look in Loki’s eyes, begging you not to believe Balder. The emotion was only there for a moment before he returned to glaring at his brother. You knew what you saw though, and you knew you had to trust your heart. Your heart and soul said that after everything you had been through together, Loki would not have lied to you, not like this. Not in any way that would hurt you.

You heart was also quite emphatically saying that you needed to get out of there.

Now.

Loki was in no shape to help you. You weren’t in any shape to help yourself, but you weren’t going to give up.You looked over your surroundings, and a plan began to form. It was a stupid-ass plan and only 12% of a plan, and would most likely get all of you killed, but it was the only plan you had.

You still had access to your powers, you just needed to get your hands free. You prayed you still had enough power left. That healing had drained you just like Balder had wanted.He had calculated your stamina based on healing Tony.

He had planned for this.

You looked up and over at Loki and managed to catch his eye. You gave him a small nod, signaling to him that you had a plan. You just needed him to keep Balder distracted. Loki gave you a small nod in return. The look of relief you saw in his eyes in that moment was the most heartbreaking thing you had ever seen, and you knew you had been wrong to even consider that he might betray you.

So you got on with your terribly stupid plan.

The clowns had bound your hands with cloth. Cloth was flammable. It just took an incredible amount of effort and concentration to burn through the cloth without being able to use your hands as a focus. If you got out of this alive, you swore to yourself that you’d practice your magic without gestures. 

After you’d spent a week unconscious from power drain.

You weren’t sure how you were still managing to stay awake and still using magic, except out of pure necessity. You were dutifully ignoring the warning pain in your head and the haze around your vision as you called your powers.

You bit back the scream of pain when the flames surrounded your hands. You couldn’t draw attention, not yet, no matter that your own power was burning you.

You still needed three more things for your plan to even have a hope of working.

You only saving grace was that Balder was monologuing about how he had taken control of The Harlequin and her clowns. Loki kept moving just enough to keep Balder’s attention on him, distracting his brother from you.It was all he could do bound as tightly as he was.

Once your hands were free, you flicked them to the cord binding you to the chair. You had thought it was chains at first, but it was really a thick cord. That vanished in an instant, which took care of the second item you needed for your plan to work.

Only two to go.

You reached up and ripped the gag from your mouth. Now came the hard part, especially with the splitting migraine that was creeping its way around your skull and down your neck. It was a dire warning that you were getting perilously close to running out of even adrenaline to keep you going. This needed to end really quickly. You could _not_ be unconscious at Balder’s mercy. You could not, would not.

Luckily, your audience included the two people whose help you needed and not the one person who would hinder you.

The Harlequin was bound and gagged on a nearby chair, clearly here under Balder’s control.

You raised a finger to your lips, looking directly at The Harlequin.She nodded her understanding. You pointed to her mind control staff, which was on the floor nearby. It was what she used to make the clowns do her bidding. She nodded again, grasping your plan. You held up three fingers where both she and Loki could see, then dropped one, then the other.

You flew to your feet, ignoring that your hands were still cuffed together. You couldn’t fix that right now and it wasn’t hindering anything. You threw a fireball at The Harlequin’s wooden chair. It splintered under her. You would have been sorry for the way you’d freed her had you had time, but you didn’t. Also she _was_ a villain, even if there was a temporary truce between you.You threw a circle of flames up around Balder, stalling for time while The Harlequin freed herself from the remains of her bonds and grabbed her mind control staff.

“Get them to free Loki!” you told The Harlequin. You prayed against all better judgment that she would help you. You knew better than to trust a villain, of course. It was against everything you were ever taught at the tower, but you had no choice now. She was your only ally until you got Loki free. She hesitated, self preservation and greed warring against the debt she owed you for freeing her. She finally nodded and raised her mind control staff.

You stayed where you were, focused on the flames, on keeping Balder contained. He roared as he burst through them, rushing for you.You pulled a dagger from the magic sheath Loki had given youand threw it at him, grateful for a weapon that didn’t require using your magic.It grazed Balder’s side and he slowed. You needed to incapacitate him. You couldn’t do that with any of the powers you had gotten from Loki as they wouldn’t work on his brothers thanks to Frigga’s enchantments. Fire wasn’t working. Telekinesis wouldn’t help.

That left one option and it wounded your soul to even consider it: telepathy.

“She was supposed to be incapacitated with that amount of healing!” Balder roared at one of the clowns. That answered your question of who had told him about your limits. You’d been spied on. That’s why the clowns had appeared, attacked you to see what you would do, and then just vanished all summer.

This was Balder’s plan.

Loki was finally free and you got to change your plan. You didn’t have to take a soul wound for this fight. /Loki, distract him/ you threw the thought at him the second he was free. Loki’s powers wouldn’t work directly against Balder, but his illusions and teleporting were great distractions. You ran for where Loki had been standing chained and gathered up the chains.

Loki and Balder were deep in battle, Loki’s daggers against Balder’s huge sword. Both of them wielded magic, though it didn’t affect the other. You rushed toward them with your burden of heavy chains. You threw the chains toward Balder, flicking your hands once they were in the air so you could use telekinesis to guide them in to place. He roared and fought and swung, but between your powers and Loki’s distractions, you got all of the shackles in place. It didn’t stop him. He backhanded youhard and you flew across the room. You crashed heavily, only barely avoiding cracking your skull open.

The Harlequin came to our aid, her clowns surrounded Balder and wrapping him in more and more ropes and chains, until he was writhing and snarling helpless on the floor.

You sighed in relief when it was finally over.

You managed to get to your feet and limped the few steps necessary to reach The Harlequin. “Thank you,” you told her. She produced the key to the handcuffs on your wrists and removed them.

She made sure his mask was firmly in place before she replied. “We shall never speak of this. My debt is repaid.”

You nodded your understanding and agreed to her terms.She hadn’t had to stay and help you. “You escaped. I had no way of stopping you,” you added. It was her turn to nod and she left the warehouse with his clowns. She got a pass for helping you.

You looked for Loki, who was panting in effort from his battle, standing near the bound Balder. He was safe. You were alive. Somehow you had survived this. Balder’s magic was bound too. You were safe. The threat was over.

It still didn’t seem real.

You went to them, then, somehow still on your feet, though you was bruised, bleeding, and beyond tapped magically. The adrenaline was wearing off. You’d have to succumb to how badly you’d overtaxed yourself soon. You were running on pure stubbornness at that point.

You heard footsteps pounding down the stairs and whirled, pulling a dagger in one hand and lifting your other in warning, though you couldn’t make a flame now if you had tried. Your vision was darkening around the edges. There was no way you could survive another fight. Loki stepped up next to you, daggers in hand. You would go down fighting together.

Fury and all of the supers came storming down the stairs, powers blazing. It only took Fury a second to assess the scene before he announced: “Stand down, soldiers. The battle is over. You won.”

Loki caught you before you hit the floor, his daggers clattering to the ground. He lowered you to the ground gently, making sure you were cradled in the safety of his cool arms. He was in barely better shape than you was. Finally safe, you let the darkness wrap around you, pulling you into unconsciousness.


	48. Chapter 48

You woke to Thor’s laughter and cheering. It was hard to mistake Thor for anyone else. His laughter was so booming and distinctive. You looked over at him and saw him sitting by your infirmary bed. Those two images just didn’t you sh. “Thor? What are you doing here?” you asked him, your voice weak. You managed to sit up, despite how awful you felt. He looked up at you from the game he was playing on the game system you’d given to Loki before finals. Thor smiled brightly over at youwhen he did and you couldn’t help giving him a small smile back.Thor’s good mood was infectious.

“Mother sent me. She said I was needed here,” he replied.With Frigga’s precognitive abilities, it was no surprise that she had sent Thor.

“Where’s Loki?” you were expecting either Loki or Tony to be at your bedside, not Thor.

“He is in the next room over. He asked me to sit with you. He was extremely impolite about it, but he refused to stay in his bed otherwise. He will be just fine, so please do not attempt to go find him. You are still very injured, little sister.” Much as you hated hospitals when you were the one being treated, you knew he was right, so you nodded meekly. He gave you a look and you knew he didn’t believe you.At all.

Well, you had learned from Loki after all.You couldn’t blame him.

“And Balder?”

“Downstairs in the dungeons. Your uncle is watching over him. I will be taking him back to Asgard with me when I return so he can spend his days in the dungeons.” You nodded your approval of the decisions. Getting Balder out of your world was an excellent idea indeed.

“I should go heal Loki, get him back on his feet...”

“You should stay in that bed and heal,” Thor countered with a smile. you sighed.

“But you can heal him. you can’t heal myself,”

“You are in no shape to heal anyone,” you grumbled at him, but he was right. Your hands were bandaged lightly and hurt like a wicked bitch. You were covered in bandages and you hoped they weren’t letting you heal at human rate. That would suck. Thor handed you a book, which you took carefully and smiled up at him.

“Thanks, Thor,”

He kissed your forehead. “Rest and heal, little sister,” he bid you. So you opened your book and agreed to sit quietly for awhile.

Fury came to check on your a few hours later. “You got her to stay in a hospital bed?” he demanded of Thor indignantly. It was a feat to get you to sit still in the hospital wing, especially when you were the one who was injured..

“I can be quite persuasive,” Thor replied with an innocent smile.

“Why don’t you go check on that brother of yours? I want a word with Kat,” Thor looked at you for approval before he would leave.

“If Loki’s awake-?” you started to ask, but didn’t know what exact message you wanted to send to your love.

“I will tell him you asked after him,” Thor replied on his way out the door.

“How are you feeling?” Fury asked when Thor was gone.

“Like hell,” you admitted. There were few people you would admit that to, but Fury was one of them. He’d become a surrogate dad over the last few years. You owed him the truth. He nodded, appreciating and accepting the truth.

“Can you give your report?” he asked.

You nodded and felt for your magic. You had enough for this.“Even better, I can show you,” you told him. You waved your hand and the illusion appeared before you. Your illusions weren’t as good as Loki’s, but it was good enough for your report. You showed Fury everything that had happened from the moment you saw the two clowns in the alley to the moment you passed out in Loki’s arms.

“You trusted a villain?” he demanded incredulously. “You let The Harlequin go?”

You nodded, reluctantly, knowing you could face a lot of trouble for that decision. “It was the only choice. The rules go out the window during a life or death situation. He was my only ally at the time. Balder would have killed us both and escaped, or somehow forced me to use your powers for his plans, whatever they are. That was his end goal...”

Fury sighed, but finally nodded. “You’re right. Just don’t do it again,” he grumbled.

“How did you find us?” you asked him. You hadn’t been able to call for help.

“Jarvis notified us when your phone was destroyed. It pulled up your last known coordinates and we got there as fast as we could.” Fury replied. That made sense.Of course Tony had set your phone to notify everyone if it was destroyed.“You did well, Kat,” he told you before he escaped the room. Lucky him. You were tempted to follow him, but knew that would just end with Thor carrying you back here. Or worse.

Thor came back a moment later. “Loki?” you asked him.

“He is in a healing sleep. He will be fine.” Thor reassured you and sat in the chair next to your bed with his game again.

You had the feeling that the healers really _did_ want you to heal at a human rate, like that would actually make you rest. Unfortunately, emergency calls kept coming in. Thor got pissed after the third gravely injured person was brought to your room so you could heal them, exhausting yourself again to be useful and do something. You couldn’t heal yourself, you could only heal others, or you would’ve been out of here the second you woke up.

Thor stood and stormed out of the room.

That couldn’t be a good thing.

He returned a few minutes later with a protesting Loki thrown over his shoulder. “Come, sister. I should have followed Mother’s instructions before now, but I felt you had to give the humans the opportunity to care for you properly first.” He offered you his hand. You took it and let him help you to your feet.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking,” Loki complained when you stumbled and crashed into Thor. Thor nodded and set Loki on his feet, sweeping you up into his arms in the same instant.

“Do not fall, Brother. I shall be quite cross with you if you do,” Thor ordered. You just closed your eyes and laid your head on Thor’s shoulder.

“Kat? Are you ok?” Loki asked, moving to look more closely at you.

You nodded against Thor’s shoulder “I’ll be fine,” you murmured

“Come, Brother,” Thor said and led the way from the room. He went to the common room, where Tony and Balder were waiting. Balder was bound in chains and gagged.

“You swear she’ll be safe with you?” Tony demanded of Thor.

Thor gave him a small bow, working not to jar you as he did. “She cannot rest here. The healers keep demanding her attention to heal the others. They will work her to death. That will not happen in Asgard,”

“Tony, just come with us? You can see the palace for yourself,” you suggested. He nodded.

Thor smiled at you . “Excellent idea, little sister,” he pushed Loki toward Tony. “Kindly make sure my brother makes it safely.” Loki grumbled that he was perfectly capable on his own.Everyone ignored him.

“You could just hand over my niece,” Tony replied with a grumble.

Thor laughed. “Mother?” He asked. The portal flashed open before you. It was faster and easier than the Bifrost and would take you directly to the palace.You were sure you made a strange procession as we made our way through it. There was a crowd waiting for you and you felt yourself cowering against Thor until you realized who they were. Frigga and Sif were there, so was Odin and a bunch of guards. The guards and Odin took charge of Balder.

“Make room!” Frigga barely had to raise her voice. “The Prince and Princess are injured.” She led you to the healing wing, where you were laid in one of the soft comfortable beds. Loki was allowed to sit in a comfy chair in the room. You reached for him, your hand glowing blue. Sif smacked your hand.

“Enough of that. Our healers will see to your soulbond. You need to rest, Sister dear,” Sif scolded lightly. You sighed, but laid back on the pillows.

“Good luck with her. She hates hospitals.” Tony warned them.

“Who are you?” Frigga demanded of Tony.

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” you usually didn’t have to call Frigga ‘Your Majesty’ anymore, but this was different. “This is your brother Tony. Tony, this is the Queen of Asgard and Loki’s mother, Frigga.” They exchanged pleasantries and Frigga got to work healing you. Some of the other healers went to Loki to do the same. He needed a lot less putting back together than you did.

“Why do you have the queen healing you?” Tony demanded, sounding incredulous that the queen was healing you.

“Because I’m a princess here and it would be an insult to have anyone less than the best healer in the realm attending me,” you replied with a grin over at Loki, who had spoken those words just a few months ago. Tony just stared with his mouth open. You lifted your hand enough to indicate the lines of power there. “Loki and I are soulbound. We’re soulbound, Uncle Tony,” you reminded him tiredly as you felt your body succumbing to the healing magic. “Loki will explain if you have more questions,” you told him, falling victim to the sleep of the healing spells.

You didn’t know how long it was before you woke again. Tony and Loki were sitting by your bedside. You smiled up at them and sat up. You were still weak and sore, but you were healed, even your burned hands. You also realized that you was wearing a light tunic and leggings of a soft material for sleeping. Way better than a hospital gown from Earth. You gaped at Tony, who was wearing a tunic and leggings too. He looked so uncomfortable that you couldn’t help laughing at him.

Loki joined you on the bed and kissed the top of your head. “How are you, darling?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine, love. Your Mother does excellent work.” you replied with a reassuring smile.

“Dinner is starting soon. The people would like to see you there. Are you up to it?” He asked.

You nodded. “Can we stop by the suite first so you can get a proper shower?” you asked. He nodded.

“We have time for that,”

“Is Uncle Tony staying in my old suite?” you asked.

Loki nodded again. “Mother set it up for him,”

“Good, let’s go,” you swung your legs out of the bed and Loki and Tony both rushed to help you to your feet. You took both of their hands and they lifted you to your feet. You were a little unsteady, but you’d be ok. Loki let you walk with Tony, who was looking so unsure and lost in Asgard.

“How are you so comfortable here? This place is so strange,” Tony asked you as you walked.

“Everyone is so welcoming. It’s hard to feel uncomfortable here. You’ll see when you meet Thor’s and Loki’s friends,”

It didn’t take you long to get to your suites. You showed Tony to his first, so he could freshen up and dress in something more formal. Loki said he had set something on Tony’s bed for him. Loki led you into your suite where you got a quick shower, finally feeling human again when the hot water eased the soreness you felt. You ran magic through your hair to dry it, loving that Loki had taught youthat trick. You went to go find him, dressed in your robe to see what he was wearing to dinner, so you could summon something to match. He was in your bedroom with his shirt off, getting dressed. You saw the scar on his chest the second you entered the room. It was in the exact spot he had been impaled by the spear. “Loki, I’m sorry...” you told him, going to him and touching the scar. You had healed Tony without a scar, but Loki you hadn’t had time to heal completely.

Loki took your hand and lifted it, kissing your knuckles. “You saved both of our lives, darling. There is nothing to be sorry for,” he gave you a warm smile. “Would you like for me to summon a dress for you?” he asked. You nodded eagerly. That would definitely make picking something to wear easier. It was generally not a good idea to trust one’s boyfriend with picking out an outfit, but Loki appreciated looking good and was great at choosing outfits for you. His green magic flowed over you and you were dressed in a golden halter dress with a blue wrap to go with it. It was elegant, but simple, and of a light material with indoor slippers instead of heels. He took your recent healings into consideration in his choice of clothes and didn’t include heals. He sat you down on the bed so he could braid your hair. You let him without complaint. It made him happy and you loved how it felt. Lastly, he summoned your tiara and placed it gently in your hair.

“I really have to wear this?” you asked him. He laughed.

“Of course. You are their princess, my dear,” he reminded you. You sighed and gave him a well-practiced put upon expression. He laughed again and pulled you to your feet. He finished dressing quickly and you left the suite to go collect your uncle. Tony just gaped at you when he saw you in the elegant dress and tiara.

“Not a word,” you spat at him. “Or I will comment about your tights,” you warned. His formal clothes included tights and they were hilarious. He held up his hands in defeat. You and Loki led the way to the dining hall. All of the servants bowed or curtsied to you, greeting you as ‘prince’ and ‘princess’. Your poor uncle was so very lost and confused.

You made it to the dining hall just in time for dinner. Thor grinned and raised his mug of beer in a salute when you arrived. Tony was announced as your visiting uncle. You and Loki both received ,greetings from everyone glad that you had healed and were well.

“Kat, why is it looking at me?” Tony asked about one dish, halfway through dinner.

You couldn’t help laughing. “That’s how you know it’s fresh,” you replied, copying Loki’s words from earlier. “It’s delicious, trust me,” you were devouring your, so he trusted your judgment. You were starving after such intensive healings and were trying very hard to behave and not eat like a heathen, until Thor reached over and dumped another serving on your plate, announcing how you needed to eat up because of the healings. You laughed at his antics, but it took attention off of you, since he was doing the same thing to Loki too.

“Little Sister, we are meeting in the small hall after dinner. Are you and your uncle up to joining us?” Thor asked toward the end of dinner.

“I’ll come for a little while. Tony should get the experience,” you replied.

“Do I not get an opinion?” Loki demanded.

“No,” Thor replied pleasantly. “You would just say ‘no’ and hide in your room with a book.” Loki grumbled at him, but didn’t argue. Thor was right.

After dinner, all of the younger members of the court went to the smaller dining hall. “Why are we here?” Tony asked in a whisper as you entered. You shook your head.He would have to find out for himself.

You were given a chair on the sidelines so you could watch the events without being pressured into participating. If you were in the chair, everyone would leave you alone, according to Thor, so you knew it was true, or they would have to answer to him.

Thor held out his hand to you, palm up, once all of the tables had been shoved aside. “May I?” he asked. You placed your hand in his. The second you did, the music started and the rowdy dances began. You laughed when Tony was dragged out onto the floor and taught the moves. You twirled and laughed with Thor, but you were only up for one dance. He settled you in your chair afterwards and you got to enjoy watching Loki and Tony be forced to dance. People stopped by and chatted with you, but no one pressured you to dance again.

You stood late in the evening and made your way out onto the dance floor. The crowd parted for you and Loki was left momentarily without a partner. You touched his arm and he turned to you, expecting the next girl in the dance. He gave you a real smile when he saw it was you instead. You took his hand in one of yours and placed your other hand on his shoulder. Loki smiled and took his position without complaint.

A woman’s desire is law at a dance, even one as unconventional as the ones on Asgard, so the moment you took the position, the music changed to a waltz. Loki led and you spun around the room with grace. Other couples joined, but none of them could hold a candle to Loki’s grace. Since he was leading, and did it well, you didn’t have to look ungraceful either. At some point, people stopped dancing and just watched the pair of you.

The dance ended and Loki took your hand, bowing over it elegantly to kiss the lines of power that started on the back of your hand. The room cheered and applauded. /Ready to head home?/ he asked. You nodded, more worn than you wanted to admit. He offered you his hand in escort manner. You placed your hand on top of his and let him lead you from the room. The second you were safely away from the others, Loki swept you up into his arms, despite your squeak of surprised protest.

“I should have gotten you out of there ages ago. You need rest, darling,” he told you, concern in his voice. You simply laid your head on his shoulder. It was nice and safe and comfortable in his arms. “Don’t worry, there is nothing to distract from your rest tomorrow,” he added. He teleported you to your suite. You both got ready for bed and finally got to relax wrapped in each other’s arms. “Thank you for trusting me, love. You don’t know how much it means that you did not believe Balder’s lies,”

“You’d never betray me,” you murmured. Annoying boyfriend had figured out that you had no filter when you were tired and kept having these deep conversations when you were dead on your feet.

“I don’t know how you found the strength to get us out of there,” he commented, sounding truly in awe of you.

“We would have died.”

“We would have been enslaved,” Loki corrected. You shuddered. He was right and that thought was more terrifying.

“We survived,” you murmured. “I love you, my soulbond,” you whispered against his chest as your eyes finally closed and sleep claimed you.


	49. Chapter 49

You spent a week resting and relaxing in Asgard. There were feasts and dances, and plenty of time hiding in the library with Loki. Including at 3am one morning when you couldn’t sleep with nightmare of the other dying at Balder’s hands. Needless to say, Thor came looking for you that night. You managed to escape the library before he found you and were having a tea party in the middle of the kitchens when he found you again. He looked grumpy as he picked you both up, once under each arm. “Why do you two insist on making sure you get no sleep?” he grumbled.

“Thor, we couldn’t sleep,” you protested.

“You two are grownups,”

“And should be allowed to get a cup of tea when we can’t sleep,” Loki replied logically and grumpily.

“Not according to Mother,” Thor replied, equally grumpily. “It would be so much easier if I just had to give you two Mother’s tonic and go back to bed, but _no_ , I have to go searching the palace for you.” You and Loki both laughed at him and his misfortune, which made him huff and roll his eyes.He set you on our feet outside of Loki’s suite and handed you each a vial of the potion from Frigga.

Unfortunately, he gave you the wrong ones and you was given the one brewed for Loki. You were unconscious for the whole day because of it, and whining at a very worried Loki at 3am the next morning that you were bored. “It’s time to sleep, darling,” he told you groggily, curled up in his bed with his blankets.

“Fine, I’ll go find someone else to play with me,” you told him with a glint of mischief. He shot up and grabbed your arm before you could climb out of the bed.

“You will do no such thing. We will do something fun in the morning. Rest, darling,” he told you, pulling you back down among the blankets.

“Fine,” you grumbled. You summoned a book and a small light and read for a few hours. Loki kept his word and took you out horseback riding the next day. You had never been before, so it was exciting and terrifying to be on top of the horse.

Your week of rest in Asgard ended far too soon. Loki was still supposed to be on his journey and could only visit home for so long. There were rules to it. You didn’t know what they were yet, but there were rules. You were sure you would find out eventually what they were, since you would be visiting every time he went home.

There was a giant feast of all of the supers when you returned to Midgard, a celebration for capturing Balder. It was a celebration that lasted all night. You were still considered heroes among all of these supers for a long time to come. Your takedown of Balder became legend almost instantly.

You had a week off when you got home and spent your last week before classes playing at the amusement part, water park, malls, movie theaters. Anything and everything fun you could think to do, you did with Loki at your side.

You were nervous to go back to school.You figured the students would hate you for what you’d done to the football jerk at the end of the previous year. 

*

Classes were boring when they started again as was the school. No one spoke to you, so nothing really changed all that much. They thought excluding you from everything would show their displeasure.It took a little while before the girls who had been victimized by the stupid jock approached to thank you.They could sleep at night now, thanks to what you’d done.It was only the popular crowd who hated you.

The classes themselves were extremely boring. You had all of Loki’s knowledge in your brain from the soulbond, so you breezed through your courses. You were tempted to test out of them, but you also wanted as normal of a senior year of high school as possible. Loki was somehow allowed to be your guard again that year. The only reason you could think of for that was that his infamous silver tongue had made it happen. The stupid preps who had harassed you last year had all graduated, so you could ignore the drama in the school. It wouldn’t affect your future.

You patrolled nearly every night, but things were quiet. The Harlequin was laying low and had since Balder was defeated. The other villains in the city seemed to take that as a hint that they should lay low too. This ended with lots of kisses during patrol. If anyone found out, they didn’t say anything. Even when there were pictures of you in full Loki/Sigyn costume making out in the park one evening. You was surprised you didn’t get in trouble for that one.You’d been on patrol after all.

The new Avengers movie came out in theaters, the one you had the preview DVD of. You and Loki went in full costume to the midnight release. You had so much fun signing autographs, taking selfies with fans, and generally pretending to be the characters. You cheered the loudest when we saw Tom and Kelly, the actor and actress who played Loki and Sigyn in the movie, come to the same midnight showing. They were in costume too, but yours were better. Before the airing, the theater begged for you to put on your comic con act for them, since all four of you were there. You agreed with some prodding from Tom, who was always up for some fun. You did the performance for the crowd and you knew it was being posted online moments later, but it was fun and hilarious, especially when the crowd kneeled for Loki during it. You stormed out and recited your lines, fighting hard to keep the anger in your voice that the words called for.

Tom and Kelly also wanted to take pictures of the soulbond lines on your arms, after making you explain what they were. You had a feeling those were going to be showing up in an upcoming movie. You took selfies with them, which you immediately posted to all of your social media. It was fun showing off a little. They sat next to you during the movie and they cheered the loudest in the theater during the kiss scene. You just blushed and tried to hide your face. You had a feeling one of the interviews about the movie was going to include that that was not Tom and Kelly in that scene.

*

You got a fair number of emergency calls for healings during those first couple months at school. Including one during a math test. The teacher tried to tell you that you couldn’t leave the test part of the way through, even though you had permission from the school to leave class for emergencies, and she would only give you credit for the questions you answered before you left the room. You scribbled out the answers and work for the rest of the question in about 30 seconds, slapped the test on her desk and stormed out of the room so you could teleport back to the compound in the privacy of the hallway. You had to report to the principal the next day for that stunt, but when you explained that Clint had gotten injured keeping a bus load of kids on a field trip from going off a bridge, and you had to leave class to go heal him, you were let off immediately and your math teacher got a formal reprimand.

*

Loki began his plans for your anniversary about a month ahead of time. You laughed at how adorable he was about it, trying to get them perfect, but didn’t pry into his plans. That would be rude, especially with how much work he was putting in to them.


	50. Chapter 50

Loki was looking more and more anxious the week leading up to your anniversary. You tried to reassure him that whatever was bothering him would be ok, though he wouldn’t tell you exactly what that was.He always gave you a smile in return, but it looked wan and he refused to tell you what was really bothering him. You cuddled more firmly against him, hoping your touch would calm him. He smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of your head.

The night of your anniversary finally came. Loki still wouldn’t tell you his plans or where you were going. Instead of telling you, he just used magic to change your clothes to the same outfits you had been wearing during the soulbinding ceremony on Asgard. The outfits were gorgeous and drew the attention of all of your friends when you went downstairs. There were cheers and catcalls and plenty of pictures taken. You blushed and tried to hide your face in Loki’s arm from all the attention. He wouldn’t let you as per usual.

“Stand up straight, darling. You’re a princess,” he reminded you gently. His silver words worked well enough that you were able to stand tall and submit to the embarrassment from your friends.Loki led you out of the tower after that.

You stared in shock at the horse-drawn carriage waiting for you at the tower’s front door. 

Loki chuckled at your shock before he helped you in to it.

Your first stop of the evening was an excellent dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town. It was Loki’s favorite place to take you, so you weren’t at all surprised. He had a special table reserved for you right in the kitchen.It was the table of honor and a VIP table and you found it amazing to watch all of the chefs work. You watched them like they were a show, an entertainment. Really, it was just great to see how well they worked together. Everything came out perfectly and you figured that over dessert was the best time to give Loki his gift. You summoned the box and handed it to him. He looked shocked that you had gotten him anything.

“What is it?” he asked as he took the box from you.

You laughed. “If you take the shiny paper off and open the box you’ll find out,” you replied, giggling.

He opened the box and pulled out your simple gift. It was a silver pocket watch/compass combo. On the top it read ‘For our adventures, love Y/N Kathryn Stark’. Inside the lid was the best picture of the two of you that you could find. You had plenty to choose from.

“It is wonderful, darling. Thank you,” he finally said when he had words again. He carefully put it in his pocket, attaching the chain properly. “Your gift will come later this evening,” he added. You weren’t expecting anything on top of your awesome night out, but you couldn’t honestly say you were terribly surprised either.

The next stop was a park that looked over the gorgeous skyline of the city. It was there that Loki pulled out a small box. He spoke before he handed it to you, before you could get the wrong idea. “This is not an engagement ring, not yet. This is a promise ring. I am beyond honored that you chose to spend the last year as my beloved. My promise to you with this ring is this: I will always love you. I will always care for you. And I promise that I will do my best to be worthy enough of your love that one day you might consent to be my wife.” He opened the ring box and dropped to one knee. “Will you accept my promises, my love?” he asked with all the seriousness of this being a proper engagement.

“Yes!” you told him excitedly, even though as he had said, this wasn’t an engagement ring. He slid the ring on your finger. It could have been confused for an engagement ring. It was a simple single diamond silver ring. Thought the diamond was smaller than a traditional engagement ring. Loki stood again and you wrapped your arms around his neck. He held you to him and you kissed for a long time under the stars.

“One more adventure tonight,” he announced when your kiss finally ended.

Your last stop was a full-out ball. You don’t know how he arranged it. Balls just weren’t a normal occurrence in this day and age, but you loved every moment of it.You danced the night away, spinning to waltzes and Loki leading on the other court dances as well. You didn’t fall behind, since you had the knowledge of the steps from the soulbond.

It was a fantastic end to a wonderful evening.

It was after midnight by the time you got back to the compound. Loki was looking more and more distressed the entire ride home. “Loki, what is it?” you asked when you were safely inside the compound. “Something’s been bothering you all week. Please tell me what it is,” you bid him, desperation in your voice. You hated seeing him hurting like this.

“I did not want to ruin our anniversary...” he finally said, hedging.

“Loki, what is it?” you demanded, worried now.It wasn’t like Loki to keep things from you.

He sighed, but took a deep breath and finally answered. “I have to return home,” he finally said, speaking the words too quickly, forcing them out.

“A visit? That’s not a problem. I can get time off to go with you,” you told him, excited to go back and see your friends and family on Asgard.

He shook his head and your heart dropped. “There is trouble at home. I have been ordered to come home and help deal with it...” that would be harder, but not impossible for you to get time away for.You could get that much time off.

“I’m sure I can get the time off to come with you-”

He shook his head again, cutting you off. “You cannot come. Not this time. I don’t know how long this will take. It could be days, weeks, months, even years before the trouble is settled. I can’t take you from your home and your life for that long...”

“No, you can’t go home and just leave me here!” you protested. “We’re soulbound. We’re in this together, whatever is going on.”

“I have to, my darling. There is no choice here. I have to go and you must remain here. Live your life. I will return to you the moment the trouble at home is settled. I _will_ return,” he promised. You looked up at him with tears running down your face. You didn’t even remember when you started to cry. You wrapped your arms around him, desperate to keep him with you, though you knew it was too late. He held you and kissed you and finally, after as much procrastinating as he could, opened the portal behind him. “Goodbye, my love. I will return as soon as I am able.” He promised, somehow disengaging himself from your grip.

“Loki, no!” you cried as the portal shut behind him. You stared at the empty space where he had been standing, with tears running down your cheeks. He was gone. He was really gone. In a daze you went up to Tony’s room and barged in.

“Kat?” he asked. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, wrapping you in his arms as you sobbed into his chest.

“Loki,” you told him. You couldn’t get any other words out that one was hard enough.

“What did that asshole do? I’ll kill him.”

You shook your head. “He left,” you sobbed. Tony held you while you cried your soul out.

You swore to myself when your tears slowed that you wouldn’t be Bella Swan. You weren’t going to fall into depression over your boyfriend leaving. You weren’t going to become a useless shell of a person. But for tonight, tonight you would allow yourself the tears, allow yourself the heartbreak.

Loki was truly gone and it felt like your soul was bleeding.

 

 

 

 

 

The End...for now


End file.
